British News Agency

Airbus said on Thursday that it expects to deliver 870 commercial aircraft in 2026, slightly below the roughly 880 anticipated by analysts.

This comes at a time of mounting pressure for the European planemaker, as its U.S. rival Boeing shows signs of recovery after years of crisis, benefiting Airbus in the process.

UBS analyst Ian Douglas-Pennant said ahead of the annual report released early Thursday that sentiment toward Airbus has deteriorated significantly since the start of the year.

“We understand the reasons behind the change in sentiment and are modeling aircraft deliveries at 880 for 2026 instead of 905, but we also see upside risks in the fourth-quarter results,” Douglas-Pennant said.

Last year, Airbus delivered 793 commercial aircraft, slightly above its revised target of 790. The company had lowered its previous target of 820, citing supplier quality issues related to fuselage panels affecting deliveries of the A320 family.

Barclays analysts described the disruption as a “temporary execution issue” and said the “long-term ramp-up” remains “intact.”

Airbus has built strong momentum in recent years while rival Boeing has struggled with design and production problems involving its best-selling narrow-body aircraft, the 737 Max.

Deliveries are a closely watched metric for aircraft manufacturers because they receive the bulk of payment when an aircraft is handed over to the customer.

Airbus delivered 193 more aircraft than Boeing in 2025, although Boeing received more orders for the first time since 2018.