Finance
Lufthansa plays catch up with European rivals after bumpy ride
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 18, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 18, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Lufthansa aims for a 2026 turnaround to improve financial performance, addressing cost and labor issues while facing global challenges.
LONDON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - German airline group Lufthansa has vowed to start making its ambitious turnaround plan a reality in 2026 as investors remain sceptical at the end of another mixed year under Chief Executive Carsten Spohr.
Since Spohr took the helm in 2014, the group's shares are down around a third. Although the stock spiked in 2017, it was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and has struggled to recover since, making it something of a laggard among European airlines.
If you'd invested on the day 59-year-old Spohr, a former pilot, took over, you'd have lost 18% of your money, including dividends, or 1.7% on an annualised basis, according to LSEG data.
Although its shares have closed the gap with those of its rivals in recent months, they've still underperformed as Lufthansa lags its competitors' financial and operational performance.
Lufthansa shares are up 26% in the last six months, compared to 35% for British Airways owner IAG and 44.6% for Air France-KLM.
LUFTHANSA TRYING TO WIDEN ITS MARGINS
Investors have warned that Lufthansa's cost and labour struggles are weighing on their confidence - and on the company's margins.
Its group operating margin narrowed to 4.4% last year from 7.6% in 2023, with analysts forecasting 4.8% for 2025. That's narrower than IAG and Air France-KLM.
Spohr is making changes such as cutting 4,000 administrative jobs over five years and retiring old planes, in an effort to hit an operating margin of 8% to 10% between 2028 and 2030. That's won over some investors.
Lufthansa also wants to streamline its complex structure, which includes six hubs and nine passenger airline brands ranging from Italian flag carrier ITA Airways to budget offering Eurowings.
Global headwinds are increasing, however, with softness in transatlantic travel. Lufthansa's plans could also get sidetracked by supply chain snags on its long-awaited Boeing jets and tough union negotiations.
(Reporting by Joanna Plucinska; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
An operating margin is a financial metric that shows the percentage of revenue that remains after covering operating expenses. It indicates how efficiently a company is managing its core business operations.
Corporate strategy refers to the overall plan a company uses to achieve its goals and objectives. It includes decisions about resource allocation, business expansion, and competitive positioning.
Financial performance is a measure of how well a company generates revenue and manages its expenses. It is often assessed through metrics such as profit margins, return on assets, and revenue growth.
Business investment involves allocating resources, typically capital, into projects or assets with the expectation of generating a return. This can include purchasing equipment, expanding operations, or investing in new technologies.
The transportation sector encompasses all businesses and services that facilitate the movement of people and goods. This includes airlines, shipping companies, railways, and logistics providers.
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