Air France-KLM Shares Plunge 13% After Disappointing Quarter
Air France-KLM's stock tumbles in the Paris stock exchange this Thursday morning, with shares down by 13.19% during the session. The decline follows the release of the third quarter 2025 results, which fell short of market expectations despite the airline group maintaining its annual targets. The Franco-Dutch group is trading at 10.20 euros midday, penalized by a market generally trending downwards.
Significant Drop Amidst Market Challenges
The stock has lost 1.55 euros since the previous close, dropping by 13.19% to settle at 10.20 euros around 12:20 PM. This drop occurs amid a chaotic session for the entire Parisian market, with the CAC 40 down by 0.53%. The volume of shares traded remains contained, with 1.67% of capital changing hands, indicating preserved liquidity despite the turmoil. Compared to the annual performance, the decline is put into perspective: the stock still maintains a gain of 16.7% since the start of the year, demonstrating a volatile but generally positive trajectory before this morning's tumble. The market's penalty is due to a divergence between analytical expectations and the figures delivered by the airline group this Thursday morning. In the third quarter of 2025, Air France-KLM reported a revenue of 9.21 billion euros, up 2.6% year-on-year, but still below the consensus of 9.4 billion. Net profit fell by 7% to 768 million euros, hampered by a decline in demand, while the operating result of 1.2 billion euros remained below the 1.26 billion expected by analysts. The operating margin remained relatively stable at 13.1%, slightly down by 0.1 points, reflecting margin compression during a demanding period.
Weaknesses Highlighted in Quarterly Performance
Air France-KLM pointed out several weakening factors during the quarter. Unit revenues fell by 0.5%, particularly weighed down by the freight segment, with aircraft undergoing more maintenance than anticipated. The low-cost branch, Transavia, also impacted the results during its fleet expansion phase. Geographically, demand for American destinations contracted, with a load factor dropping by 1.1 points to 89% on the North America route, reflecting the fragility of the economy class due to enhanced migration measures. Costs increased by 1.3%, within the lower range of initial targets, notably penalized by a 41% increase in airport charges at Amsterdam-Schiphol. The group also noted a significant negative effect from the increase in air ticket taxation in France for 2025. Benjamin Smith, CEO of the group, nevertheless reaffirmed the group's resilience in this challenging environment, confirming all annual financial targets. The group maintains its expectation of a 4 to 5% increase in capacity in 2025 and a low single-digit percentage increase in unit cost excluding fuel. Despite Thursday's stock market plunge, cash generation remained strong over the first nine months of the year.
Technical Analysis of Stock Performance
Technically, the decline of 1.55 euros places the stock in a significantly weakened position. The share price is now trading close to its 200-day moving average (10.22 euros) but significantly below its 50-day moving average set at 12.01 euros. The gap between these two moving averages, exceeding 1.80 euros, indicates a longer-term bullish configuration against a strongly deteriorated short-term trend. The immediate support level is identified at 10.96 euros, which is 0.76 euros below the current price. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 45, a neutral position not indicating overselling, while the stock is trading at the lower limit of the Bollinger Bands set between 10.93 and 12.19 euros.
