Aena SME SA Q4 EBITDA in line but FCF turns negative, debt jumps €500 mln
#Aena SME SA #Q4 earnings #EBITDA #Free cash flow #Airport acquisition #Passenger traffic #Analyst ratings #Spanish airports
📌 Key Takeaways
- Aena SME SA's Q4 EBITDA met expectations but free cash flow turned negative
- Net debt increased by €500 million due to acquisition and tax payments
- Total revenue grew 11.4% year-on-year, beating consensus
- The company's 2026 passenger guidance of 1.3% growth is below analyst expectations
📖 Full Retelling
Spanish airport operator Aena SME SA reported fourth-quarter core profit broadly in line with expectations on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, but free cash flow turned negative and net debt swelled by roughly €500 million after the company rushed to close a British regional airports acquisition and faced higher-than-expected tax payments. The company posted EBITDA of €902 million, fractionally above a consensus of €900 million from 18 analysts but 2% below Morgan Stanley's estimate. Free cash flow swung to a negative €74 million against expectations of positive €104 million, driven by capital expenditure of €343 million that was 11% above estimates and higher-than-anticipated tax payments. Total revenue of €1.59 billion rose 11.4% year-on-year, beating consensus by 3.9%, boosted by international segment revenues inflated by IFRIC 12 construction accounting. Commercial revenue of €509 million exceeded expectations by 4.6%, while aeronautical revenue of €791 million remained broadly flat against forecasts. The company carried 74.5 million passengers in the quarter, up 4.1% year-on-year, in line with consensus, though its 2026 guidance of 326 million passengers implies only 1.3% growth, falling short of analyst estimates that projected closer to 3% growth. The international segment, which includes Brazilian operations, posted EBITDA of €76 million, missing Morgan Stanley's estimate by 10%, while net income beat expectations at €557 million, aided by lower depreciation charges. Analysts remain divided on the stock, with Jefferies rating it 'buy' with a €30 target and Morgan Stanley rating it 'overweight' with a €28.30 target, though both flagged the pending CNMC regulatory report as a key factor for future tariff levels.
🏷️ Themes
Financial Performance, Airport Operations, Market Analysts
📚 Related People & Topics
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
Accounting measure of a company's profitability
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, commonly known as EBITDA ( EE-bit-dah, EB-it-dah), is a measure of a company's profitability of the operating business only, thus before any effects of indebtedness, state-mandated payments, and costs required to maintain its asset bas...
Free cash flow
Financial accounting term
In financial accounting, free cash flow (FCF) or free cash flow to firm (FCFF) is the amount by which a business's operating cash flow exceeds its working capital needs and expenditures on fixed assets (known as capital expenditures). It is that portion of cash flow that can be extracted from a com...
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Connections for Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization:
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try{ var _=i o; . if(!_||_&&typeof _==="object"&&_.expiry Gold prices rebound on tariff jitters; silver, platinum and copper rally Nvidia, Salesforce earnings loom large - what’s moving markets AMD stock surges 14% on Meta AI partnership deal Bitcoin slips, wipes out 50% from October record high at session low (South Africa Philippines Nigeria) Aena SME SA Q4 EBITDA in line but FCF turns negative, debt jumps €500 mln By Navamya Acharya Author Navamya Acharya Earnings Published 02/25/2026, 05:01 AM Aena SME SA Q4 EBITDA in line but FCF turns negative, debt jumps €500 mln 0 AENA -1.53% Investing.com -- Spanish airport operator Aena SME SA posted fourth-quarter core profit broadly in line with expectations on Wednesday, but free cash flow turned negative and net debt swelled by roughly €500 million after the company rushed to close a British regional airports acquisition and faced higher-than-expected tax payments. Aena reported fourth-quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of €902 million, fractionally above a company-compiled consensus of €900 million from 18 analysts but 2% below Morgan Stanley’s estimate of €918 million on an adjusted basis. Follow real-time stock swings and analyst updates on InvestingPro - up to 50% off Free cash flow swung to a negative €74 million against Morgan Stanley’s estimate of positive €104 million, a €178 million shortfall driven by capital expenditure of €343 million, 11% above estimates, and higher taxes paid. Net debt rose to €5.51 billion, some €500 million above the bank’s forecast of €5.03 billion. Total revenue of €1.59 billion rose 11.4% year-on-year, beating consensus of €1.53 billion by 3.9%, boosted by international segment revenues inflated by IFRIC 12 construction accounting. Commercial revenue of €509 million beat consensus by 4.6%, while aeronautical revenue of €791 million was broadly flat against expectations. Variable retail spending per passenger rose 4.1% year-on-year in the fourth quart...
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