Finance
British Airways owner IAG beats second-quarter profit estimates
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on August 1, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on August 1, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
IAG, owner of British Airways, reported a Q2 profit of 1.68 billion euros, surpassing forecasts due to strong transatlantic travel demand.
By Joanna Plucinska and Shashwat Awasthi
(Reuters) -British Airways owner IAG reported better than expected second-quarter earnings on Friday, helped by strong demand for its transatlantic routes despite fears of knock-on effects from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff war.
Europe's airlines have broadly managed to dodge turmoil over tariffs, with Air France-KLM and Lufthansa reporting strong second quarters and confirming their annual forecasts earlier this week.
IAG reported an operating profit of 1.68 billion euros ($1.92 billion) for the quarter, compared with analysts' average forecast of 1.4 billion euros in an LSEG poll, and up 35% from a profit of 1.2 billion euros in the same period last year.
"We continue to benefit from the trend of a structural shift in consumer spending towards travel. We remain focused on our market-leading brands and core geographies, where we continue to see robust performance," Chief Executive Luis Gallego said in a statement.
The group confirmed its full-year financial forecasts and said it was seeing strong demand in its core North Atlantic markets, as well as Latin America and Europe.
U.S. airlines have not fared as well, with Delta pulling its full-year guidance this spring due to worries over dropping demand.
IAG has been one of the strongest share performers compared to other European airlines in recent years, but this year has lagged rivals Lufthansa and Air France-KLM as they have recovered from cost pressures.
($1 = 0.8749 euros)
(Reporting by Joanna Plucinska and Shashwat Awasthi. Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Mark Potter)
IAG reported an operating profit of 1.68 billion euros ($1.92 billion) for the quarter, which exceeded analysts' average forecast of 1.4 billion euros.
IAG has been one of the strongest share performers among European airlines in recent years, but this year it has lagged behind rivals Lufthansa and Air France-KLM.
The strong demand for transatlantic routes and a structural shift in consumer spending towards travel contributed significantly to IAG's better-than-expected earnings.
IAG is experiencing strong demand in its core North Atlantic markets, as well as in Latin America and Europe.
U.S. airlines, such as Delta, have not performed as well as IAG, with Delta pulling its full-year guidance due to concerns over declining demand.
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