London, June 19, 2026, 14:05 (BST)
- IAG traded at around 454.4 pence in London, off 1.9%. Shares opened at 458 pence. The FTSE 100 slipped 0.34%.
- Investors cleared a €0.05 final dividend per share, set for payout starting June 29.
- CEO Luis Gallego said EU competition rules make a takeover attempt for easyJet “very difficult.” Financial Times
International Consolidated Airlines Group shares slipped Friday, erasing some of Thursday’s 2.3% gain. CEO Luis Gallego said regulatory hurdles could complicate any deal with easyJet, sending the stock lower.
IAG’s investment case for the near term is shifting away from bets on a big deal and leaning more on capital returns and how well it can run its business. Investors cleared every board proposal at the annual meeting Thursday, smoothing the way for its current plans.
IAG ended 2025 with a 15.1% operating margin, Gallego told the meeting, topping the group’s long-term goal of 12% to 15%. The dividend paid from last year’s profit hits €448 million. Excess-cash distributions over the last three years come to €2.85 billion. Those figures are solid but there’s no new 2026 guidance here.
The company set a final dividend of €0.05 a share before tax, or €0.0405 after the standard 19% Spanish withholding tax. Shares trade ex-dividend on June 25, which is when buyers lose the right to the payment. The record date is June 26 and payments start June 29.
IAG has wrapped up its first €500 million buyback, taking in 116.8 million shares, or roughly 2.5% of its outstanding stock. The company kicked off a follow-on €500 million buyback on May 18 that will run through September 30. Both tranches are part of a broader €1.5 billion capital return. Buybacks shrink the number of shares, which can boost the value of those still out if profits hold steady.
IAG’s big issue is fuel. Back in May, IAG cut its forecasts for annual profit, free cash flow and capacity, and the company now sees its 2026 fuel bill at about €9 billion even though it’s hedging 70% of what it needs. JPMorgan’s Harry Gowers said he still expects “strong free cash flow generation” from IAG, but he said that depends on where energy prices, fares and demand for travel go. Reuters
FTSE 100 flat as oil rises, IAG slips
The FTSE 100 barely moved Friday. Cancelled U.S.-Iran talks propped up oil and kept investors cautious. IAG dropped harder, suggesting airlines and company issues weighed more, though it’s too soon to say for sure.
EasyJet is still the main competitor to watch. The low-cost airline is launching 13 new UK routes to help cut winter losses, and Castlelake’s interest has put takeover talk back in play. A bigger airline group might find EasyJet’s network attractive, but with a lot of overlapping European routes, competition issues would be front and centre if IAG tried to make a move.
IAG is due to report second-quarter results on July 31. Investors want updated fuel assumptions, more detail on capacity and cash-flow, and signs that strong premium bookings are still making up for weaker demand driven by price.
