London, June 20, 2026, 22:05 (BST)
- IAG closed at 454.8 pence Friday, falling 1.8% for the session. Shares are still up 4.3% from June 12. IAG hit 465.5p on Thursday.
- Investors signed off on a final dividend of €0.05 a share at the annual meeting on Thursday.
- Fresh risk for fuel prices as Iran and the U.S. clashed Saturday on what’s happening in the Strait of Hormuz, just ahead of London’s reopening.
International Consolidated Airlines Group slipped late on Friday, paring gains for the week. Shares of the British Airways owner finished about 2.3% below their 52-week high after dropping 1.8% in the session. That came after a 2.3% jump Thursday, which had pushed the stock to its highest level in a year.
Markets are watching for what happens before the bell Monday. On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they shut the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command said 55 merchant ships with over 17 million barrels of oil passed through the strait. U.S. and Iranian officials are due to meet in Switzerland on Sunday.
IAG posted a weekly gain while the FTSE 100 fell 1%, marking the index’s worst week in six. European travel and leisure stocks fell 0.9% on Friday as crude inched up. Investors kept buying IAG on hopes that cheaper fuel and shareholder payouts would offset its profit warning, based on the relative move.
IAG shareholders signed off on a €0.05 final dividend at Thursday’s annual meeting, with 99.77% of votes in favor. The payout is due June 29. Investors also cleared the cancellation of up to 461.2 million shares, or 10% of share capital, depending on how many shares IAG buys back. Cancelling those will cut the total shares outstanding.
Big deals look less likely for now. IAG CEO Luis Gallego called a possible easyJet bid “very, very difficult” given Europe’s current competition rules, though he said IAG is “open to everything, not only easyJet.” EasyJet has also drawn interest from U.S. investment firm Castlelake. With that regulatory hurdle in place, cash is more likely to go to buybacks and dividends than into a major European airline buyout. Financial Times
Fuel is still the swing factor here. Brent crude last traded at $80.38 a barrel Friday afternoon, adding about 0.5% for the day, but the price is down around 8% this week. Rory Johnston, founder at Commodity Context, said traders have been “pricing in a deal and pretty seamless execution.” Weekend events show why airline stocks can turn fast when traders can’t count on that. Reuters
IAG said in May that yearly profit, capacity and free cash flow would come in lower than it had guided before. The company is pointing to a 2026 jet-fuel bill of about €9 billion. That’s about €2 billion up from last year. It has hedged 70% of its remaining fuel needs, so some prices are already locked in. JPMorgan’s Harry Gowers called out “strong free cash flow generation to remain intact.” Reuters
The risk is clear. If Hormuz stays blocked, crude and jet fuel prices could move up faster than IAG can pass on the cost to customers, and higher fares might hurt demand. Airlines worldwide have already reduced their 2026 profit outlook as pricier fuel and detours eat into anticipated revenue.
Friday’s close put the median analyst target for IAG at 485.3p, roughly 6.7% above where shares finished. Targets from the 14 analysts ranged between 381.3p and 615.3p. The gap in those calls says more than the average—investors are still split on how oil prices, fares, and demand from passengers will play out.
IAG isn’t set to report any trading update next week. Second-quarter numbers come out July 31. Until then, shares will probably move on Hormuz shipping reports, what comes from Sunday’s meeting, crude oil swings, and more news from easyJet.
