London, Jan 6, 2026, 09:27 GMT — Regular session
- IAG shares rose about 0.6% in early London trade, hovering near the top of their 52-week range.
- A dip in oil prices lifted sentiment toward airline fuel costs, a key input for margins.
- Investors are watching U.S. payrolls on Jan. 9 and IAG’s FY-2025 results later this quarter.
Shares in International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG), owner of British Airways, traded close to a 52-week high on Tuesday, up 2.7 pence, or 0.6%, at 427.8 pence by 0923 GMT. The stock sat near the top of its 52-week range of 210.0p to 430.6p and valued the group at about 19.6 billion pounds, while it traded on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 8.15 — a valuation measure comparing the share price to earnings per share.
The move comes as European equities held firm after Monday’s record push above the 600-point mark for the STOXX 600 index. Traders in the region are working through a packed calendar that includes German inflation figures and a batch of manufacturing surveys. 1
Oil prices slipped, offering a near-term tailwind for airlines whose costs are heavily exposed to jet fuel. Brent crude fell about 0.5% to $61.48 a barrel, and “the oil complex remains packed with barrels,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at brokerage Phillip Nova. 2
Airlines often hedge fuel — locking in prices ahead of time — which can delay or dilute the benefit of day-to-day moves in crude. Even so, a softer oil tape tends to help risk appetite for travel names at the margin, especially when investors are looking for clean signals early in the year.
IAG also published an update on its share capital, saying it held 162,175,275 treasury shares as of Jan. 5 and had 4,565,025,872 voting rights in issue, excluding those shares. Treasury shares are stock a company has repurchased and holds, and they do not carry voting rights. 3
Operationally, Iberia warned customers that a strike called by a ground-handling service company at Madrid–Barajas Airport on Jan. 7 may lead to delays on flights to and from Madrid operated by Iberia, Iberia Express or Iberia Regional Air Nostrum. 4
The macro calendar remains a near-term driver for cyclicals such as airlines, which tend to move with growth expectations and consumer demand signals. The U.S. Employment Situation report for December 2025 is scheduled for release on Friday, Jan. 9, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ calendar shows. 5
For IAG, investors are also focused on what management says about pricing, unit costs and capacity discipline when it next reports. Any commentary on cash generation and shareholder returns will be watched closely after a strong run that has left the stock near the top end of its one-year range.
