Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) shares enjoyed another month of strong outperformance in August.
On 31 July, shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) airline stock closed trading for $10.87. When the closing bell rang on 29 August, the last day of trading for the month, shares were changing hands for $11.75 apiece.
This put Qantas shares up 8.1% in August, flying ahead of the 2.6% gains posted by the ASX 200 over this same period.
Image source: Getty Images
Flying Kangaroo overcomes legal headwinds
On 18 August, and again on the following day, Qantas shares closed in the red as investors mulled over the decision handed down by the Federal Court involving the unlawful dismissal of 1,820 baggage handlers in 2020.
The court ordered the airline to pay a $90 million fine, amongst the largest ever imposed in corporate Australia.
Former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce had initially defended the move to outsource the baggage handlers' work as necessary for the company's survival during the global pandemic border closures. However, current CEO Vanessa Hudson sounded a more apologetic note.
"The decision to outsource five years ago, particularly during such an uncertain time, caused genuine hardship for many of our former team and their families," she said.
Earnings tailwinds send Qantas shares soaring
The ASX 200 airline got a big boost on 28 August following the release of its FY 2025 earnings results.
Investors responded to those results by sending Qantas shares up 9.1% on the day to close at a new record high of $12.12.
Highlights grabbing investor interest on the day included an 8.6% year-on-year increase in revenue and other income in FY 2025 to $23.82 billion.
On the bottom line, the company achieved a 15% increase in underlying profit before tax to $2.39 billion. And statutory profit after tax of $1.61 billion was up 28% from FY 2024.
This led management to declare a fully franked final Qantas dividend of 16.5 cents per share and a fully franked special dividend of 9.9 cents per share for a total final payout of 26.4 cents per share.
That passive income payout, equating to a yield of 2.3% at Tuesday's closing price of $11.62, is still up for grabs. If you want to bank that dividend, you'll need to own Qantas shares at market close on 15 September. The ASX 200 airline trades ex-dividend on 16 September.
As for what's ahead, Qantas forecasts domestic revenue will increase 3% to 5% in H1 FY 2026. Management expects international revenue in the first half to increase by 2% to 3% year on year.
