As Airbus’s defense division celebrates a successful delivery of modified A400M aircraft to Indonesia, a severe disruption is plaguing the heart of its commercial business. A worsening dispute with American supplier Pratt & Whitney over a shortage of engines is forcing the European aerospace giant to make difficult concessions. For shareholders, this situation casts a critical light on the upcoming Annual General Meeting in April.
Production Goals Under Threat
The core issue involves the PW1100G jet engine. Production defects have necessitated the unscheduled workshop maintenance of a significant number of these power units. This has created a structural bottleneck: scarce engines are being diverted to service existing fleets instead of being available for the assembly lines building new A320neo and A220 family aircraft. In response, Airbus is ramping up pressure and examining potential compensation claims against the U.S. manufacturer, as the delays pose a major threat to its own production targets.
The persistent supply challenges are leaving a clear mark on the company’s performance. Following three consecutive years of missed delivery targets, the analysis firm Berenberg recently lowered its price target for the stock. Market sentiment reflects this skepticism: the recent slide in the share price to 39.40 euros brings the year-to-date decline to nearly 20 percent, a move that places the equity in a technically oversold position according to chart analysis.
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Shareholder Scrutiny Ahead at AGM
Consequently, investors are expected to pose pointed questions at the Annual General Meeting scheduled for April 14 in Amsterdam. Alongside a vote on a gross dividend of 3.20 euros per share, key personnel decisions and ambitious targets for the current year are on the agenda:
- Delivery of approximately 870 commercial aircraft in 2026
- An adjusted operating profit (EBIT) of around 7.5 billion euros
- The appointment of Oliver Zipse and Henriette Hallberg Thygesen to the Board of Directors
The company’s order book remains robust, filled with over 8,700 aircraft. Airbus’s primary challenge is no longer securing demand, but purely executing on production. Achieving the targeted stabilization of the production rate to 75 planes per month by the end of 2027 is wholly dependent on a swift resolution to the engine dispute.
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