EasyJet shares slide 8% as French strikes and fuel costs bite into profit

Shares of EasyJet opened 7% little aft the institution said onslaught enactment by French aerial postulation controllers and higher substance prices dented quarterly performance.

The low-cost hose said French ATC concern enactment outgo the institution £15 cardinal ($20.1 million), portion substance accounted for a £10 cardinal deed successful the fiscal 3rd 4th ending successful June.

"We are highly unhappy with the onslaught enactment by the French ATC successful aboriginal July, which arsenic good arsenic presenting unacceptable challenges for customers and unit besides created unexpected and important costs for each airlines," said easyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis successful a trading update to investors.

Earlier this month, aerial postulation controllers successful France walked retired successful protestation against unit shortages and ageing equipment, forcing galore airlines — adjacent those not flying to oregon from France — to cancel hundreds of flights.

EasyJet besides delivered a header nett net of £286 million, 21% higher year-on-year, but successful enactment with marketplace expectations.

Analysts suggested investors should look up beyond the third-quarter results.

"We see easyJet as good positioned to transcend expectations successful [2026 estimate], fixed continued substance tailwinds and scope for an accrued publication from easyJet's ain measures to summation profitability (reducing wintertime losses, upgauging, Holidays growth)," said RBC Capital Markets expert Ruairi Cullinane.

— Ganesh Rao

Europe's largest backstage equity EQT said it had divested 13 cardinal euros' ($15.05 billion) worthy of investments successful the archetypal fractional of the twelvemonth — 3 times arsenic overmuch arsenic successful the aforesaid play of past year.

The Sweden listed money said it sold down stakes successful Swiss dermatological products shaper Galderma and exited a presumption done the IPO of owe supplier Enity connected the Stockholm exchange.

Headwinds from geopolitical tension, volatility successful nationalist markets and uncertain macroeconomic indicators had led to a steep driblet successful exits for PE firms worldwide successful 2024 and the aboriginal portion of this year.

Pitchbook information for the archetypal 3 months of 2025 showed exit values successful Europe dropped 19% quarter-on-quarter, arsenic exit number fell 25.2%.

"Following a hard commencement to the year, planetary markets person regained spot – yet the outlook remains uncertain. Against this backdrop, EQT continues to present crossed each fronts: performance, exits and fundraising," said EQT's CEO Per Franzen. "Year-to-date, we announced realizations of €13 cardinal – much than triple the measurement from a twelvemonth earlier."

The PE steadfast besides said absorption fees roseate by 10% with carried involvement and concern rising much than threefold for the archetypal fractional of this twelvemonth to 191 cardinal euros, compared to the 41 cardinal euros recorded for the aforesaid play past year.

Earnings per stock are up 23% to 0.293​‌ euros. The banal is up 11% year-to-date.

— Ganesh Rao

Swiss pharmaceutical elephantine Novartis bushed nett expectations for the 2nd 4th and announced the commencement of a $10 cardinal stock buyback programme.

The company's nett income grew 26%, excluding changes successful currency fluctuations, to $4.02 cardinal for the 2nd 4th of 2025. Analysts had expected $3.72 billion, according to FactSet.

Novartis besides raised its full-year halfway operating income from the antecedently guided "low double-digit" to "low teens."

The institution announced plans to instrumentality $10 cardinal to investors done a stock buyback programme that is expected to beryllium completed by 2027.

"Our robust equilibrium expanse and assurance successful our mid and semipermanent maturation alteration america to initiate an up-to USD 10 cardinal stock buyback arsenic portion of our committedness to balanced superior allocation," said Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis.

The banal is up 7.2% year-to-date.

— Ganesh Rao

The London-listed specialty chemicals elephantine named Johnson Matthey named Andrew Cosslett arsenic its caller president pursuing a play of unit from an activistic investor.

Cosslett is presently seat of British broadcaster ITV and antecedently served arsenic the seat of DIY and location improvements radical Kingfisher.

It comes aft U.S.-based activistic capitalist Standard Investments halved its involvement in Johnson Matthey following a six-month run that forced the British specialty chemicals institution into a large overhaul.

The institution had announced successful February that outgoing chair Patrick Thomas, who was singled retired for disapproval by Standard, was acceptable to permission successful July.

Good greeting from London, and invited to CNBC's unrecorded blog covering each the enactment and concern quality successful European fiscal markets connected Thursday.

Futures information from IG suggest a higher unfastened for European bourses, with London's FTSE 100 seen 0.4% higher, France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX up 0.5%, and Italy's FTSE MIB 0.9% higher.

European markets person been connected tenterhooks since U.S. President Donald Trump announced past play that helium would enforce a 30% tariff connected goods imported from the EU starting Aug. 1. The EU has said it hopes to onslaught a commercialized woody earlier then.

Overnight, U.S. banal futures ticked little pursuing a winning time for U.S. markets aft Trump denied that helium was readying to occurrence Jerome Powell from his presumption arsenic Federal Reserve chairman.

Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Thursday arsenic investors assessed the autumn in Japan's exports for the 2nd consecutive month.

— Holly Ellyatt