Airbus posted sharply higher earnings for the second quarter and said a recent uptick in plane deliveries made it confident that it would be able to meet its annual target.
The European aircraft maker said adjusted earnings before interest and taxes--its preferred measure of profitability--jumped 54% on year to 2.43 billion euros, equivalent to $2.77 billion. Meanwhile, net profit more than doubled to 1.66 billion euros.
Analysts had expected adjusted EBIT of 2.19 billion euros and a net profit of 1.59 billion euros, according to market consensus provided by the company based on estimates from 20 analysts.
Higher earnings come days after Airbus said it aimed to significantly boost its profitability over the next few years, betting that demand for commercial and military aircraft will remain strong and continue to fuel growth.
The group said last week that it expected adjusted EBIT to grow to a range between 12 billion euros and 13 billion euros in 2029, up from 7.13 billion euros in 2025. Its commercial aircraft business is expected to contribute around 10 billion euros to the total.
Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said Wednesday that strong plane deliveries in the second quarter fueled confidence in the group's future performance, a sign it expects to meet its annual goal of roughly 870 commercial aircraft deliveries despite supply-chain hurdles that stifled the sourcing of engines and other equipment.
Airbus dispatched 351 planes between January and the end of June, with a noticeable uptick in recent months that analysts say should make its annual goal more attainable. Some had raised concerns Airbus would be forced to slash the target because of supply-chain issues as it did in 2022, 2024 and 2025.
Airbus's procurement struggles in recent years have weighed on aircraft manufacturing and, consequently, deliveries. A Pratt & Whitney engine shortage forced it to slow production of its best-selling A320 jets and the group initiated a process earlier this year to enforce its contractual rights against the RTX-owned company.
Those hurdles held Airbus back when investors were hoping the group would cash in on Boeing's woes following the blowout of an Alaska Airlines door plug in 2024 that exposed the U.S. jet maker to tighter regulatory scrutiny.
However, the gains never materialized. Airbus stock is up less than 6% since January, while Boeing shares are down about 2% this year as executives work to restore its fortunes. Boeing's second-quarter net loss of $428 million narrowed from the $612 million loss it posted a year earlier.
The company said last week that it was working to boost production of its jets and that it expected to make 13 A220 narrow-body aircraft a month in 2028, between 70 and 75 A320s a month by the end of next year, five A330s a month in 2029 and 12 of its larger A350 model in 2028.
Second-quarter revenue grew 28% to 20.53 billion euros. Analysts had forecast 20.25 billion euros, according to the consensus.
Airbus said it continued to expect adjusted EBIT of around 7.5 billion euros and free cash flow before customer financing of around 4.5 billion euros this year.
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