IAG, the company that owns British Airways, climbed to the top of the FTSE 100 in monthly gains.
British Airways Parent Company Leads FTSE 100 Stocks With Tripled Q1 Profits
Since the start of April, International Airlines Group (IAG) has emerged as the top performer among FTSE 100 stocks. Driven by robust Q1 results and easing trade tensions, the British Airways parent company has experienced a 25.6% surge in its stock price, currently trading at 326.6p.
In early April, IAG revealed a more than threefold increase in its Q1 2025 operating profits, reaching a forecast-beating €198 million, primarily due to lower fuel costs, increased leisure travel demand, and favorable exchange rates. These factors helped offset the later Easter holiday weekend, which took place at the end of April this year, compared to late March in 2024.
The London-based company, which includes Aer Lingus and Iberia under its umbrella, also announced plans to purchase 53 new aircraft as part of a UK-US trade deal, with deliveries scheduled between 2028 and 2033.
Additionally, US President Donald Trump's decision to postpone plans for a 50% tariff on the European Union offered a boost to the airline's shares earlier this week. Decreasing air travel between the US and the EU following Trump's inauguration, primarily due to immigration policy concerns, had resulted in a slowdown. However, according to IAG, demand for premium cabins on its North Atlantic routes had partially offset softer US economy ticket sales.
Another FTSE 100 stock experiencing relatively minimal impact from trade-related uncertainty is Diploma, whose shares have seen a 18.4% increase in the past month. Despite geopolitical and economic uncertainties stemming from US tariff measures, investors have continued to seek safe-haven assets like gold, leading firms such as Fresnillo—experiencing surging gold prices—to expand by 16.2%.
With Hiscox, EasyJet, M&G, and Rolls-Royce Holdings also among the top ten monthly risers, the travel and aviation sector has shown signs of resilience in 2025, potentially indicating that market sentiment may have been overly bearish. The combination of strong earnings, positive analyst sentiment, favorable technical indicators, and sustained demand momentum suggests a renewed investor interest in the sector.
Investors, taking note of the strong earnings and positive market sentiment, have shown a renewed interest in the travel and aviation sector, with British Airways parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) leading the charge. With a more than threefold increase in its Q1 2025 operating profits, IAG's financial investments in this business sector have proven lucrative, signifying a promising outlook for the industry.
