Airbus would be looking pretty bad right now if Boeing didn’t look worse

Airbus (AIR) might be nervously looking over its shoulder if it weren’t for a nearly month-long machinist strike at its arch-rival Boeing (BA). The French planemaker announced that it delivered 50 commercial airliners in September, a sharp slowdown from earlier this summer and another sign that the other half of a global aviation duopoly has its own issues to worry about.

When a door plug fell off a Boeing 737 Max 9, the Federal Aviation Administration told Boeing that it would have to curtail the number of planes it builds until the regulator was certain that it had figured out its quality-control issues. Airbus told investors that it didn’t expect to face any hurdles of that nature, cementing its dominance in the wake of Boeing’s last 737 Max scandal. But it has faced hurdles of a different nature instead.

Engine troubles and other supply chain difficulties have made it difficult for Airbus to take full advantage of Boeing’s slowdown. September marked the second month in a row and the fourth month this year when deliveries actually fell compared to 2023. Reuters reports that the company would need to deliver 273 aircraft in the fourth quarter to hit its 770-plane forecast. That would require a 10% acceleration from the same period a year before; so far, the company is only up 2%.

Airbus shares were up as much as 23% earlier this year before its troubles caught up with it. In June, the company lowered its full-year delivery guidance. (CNBC reports that analysts think the company may do so again shortly.) In August, the head of its commercial airplane division told the Wall Street Journal, “I thought we were going to be in a better place.” Though its stock price isn’t having as bad a year as Boeing’s (down more than 40%), its stock is in negative territory nonetheless.

Airbus will report third-quarter earnings on October 30.