Following a strong August, Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) shares underperformed the benchmark in September.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) airline stock closed out August trading for $11.75. On 30 September, shares closed the day changing hands for $10.92 apiece, putting the stock down 7.1% over the month.
This lags the 1.4% loss posted by the ASX 200 in September.
But it's not as dire as it sounds.
Here's what's been happening.
Image source: Getty Images
Qantas shares retrace from record highs
When looking at September's performance, we should keep in mind that on 28 August, shares in the Flying Kangaroo closed at an all-time high of $12.12 apiece. So, a little profit-taking in September is not entirely unexpected.
Qantas shares scored the August milestone following the release of the company's FY 2025 results.
On the bottom line, the airline reported underlying profit before tax of $2.39 billion, up 15% from FY 2024.
This saw management declare a fully franked final ordinary dividend of 16.5 cents per share and a special fully franked dividend of 9.9 cents per share, for a total final Qantas dividend payment of 26.4 cents per share.
Now, that's relevant to the month just past because Qantas shares traded ex-dividend on 16 September. So, we need to add that 26.4 cents per share back into the September closing price of $10.92 to get an accurate gauge of their value.
In this case, the accumulated value of Qantas stock at the end of September now works out to $11.184 per share. Which sees the stock down a lesser 4.8% over the month.
What else happened with the ASX 200 airline in September?
There were no price-sensitive announcements out from Qantas in September.
But the airline did report on the maiden flights of its first two next-generation Airbus A321XLR aircraft.
The new airplanes, which form part of Qantas' fleet renewal program, commenced their inaugural commercial services between Sydney and Melbourne and Sydney and Perth, respectively.
And the new generation planes could help support Qantas shares over the long term. The A321XLR craft are reported to use less fuel per seat than the 737 planes they're replacing. This will save on jet fuel costs and enable Qantas to reduce its overall carbon emissions.
"The extended flight range enables us to operate these aircraft on both domestic and short haul international routes, including destinations across South East Asia that are not viable with our current narrowbody fleet," Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson noted.
