Ryanair ADR shares drop over 5% in pre-market Nasdaq as Q1 profits decline 34% YoY in June quarter

Ryanair ADR shares were trading around 5% lower during the pre-market Nasdaq trading session on Monday, July 20, as the company failed to impress equity market investors after posting a 34% decline in net profits for the April to June quarter of the financial year ending 2026-27.

Ryanair Holdings’ American Depository Receipt (ADR) shares dropped around 5.3% to $59.30 apiece before the opening bell on Monday’s market, compared to $62.57 at the previous US stock market close, according to the exchange data.

Monday’s pre-market decline in the US market comes after the stock crashed 7.6% in the European market after the company’s Q1 earnings announcement on July 20. Ryanair Holdings stock is listed on the Euronext Dublin stock exchange, with ADR shares listed on the Nasdaq.

ADR shares are a specific number of shares of a foreign company that are issued via a US-dollar-denominated certificate by a US-based bank to allow investors to buy, sell and hold the shares on the US stock exchanges.

Why did Ryanair shares fall?

Ryanair Holdings shares dropped 7.6% in the European market and in the pre-market Nasdaq trading session after the company’s Q1 earnings report showed a 34% year-on-year (YoY) decline in net profits to 538 million euros, from 820 million euros in the same period of the previous year.

"The price of our 20% unhedged fuel doubled in the quarter and fares fell 6%, primarily we think due to the impact of the Middle East conflict," said Michael O’Leary, the CEO of Ryanair.

As per the Q1 earnings report, Ryanair’s revenues rose 1% YoY to 4.38 billion euros in the June quarter of FY27, compared to 4.34 billion euros in the same quarter of the previous financial year.

While the passenger load factor for the airline remained the same, the total number of passengers increased by 6% to 61.3 million as of the quarter ended June 2026, from 57.9 million euros in the same period a year ago.

The company’s profits were weighed down by the rising expenses in the period under review, specifically in fuel costs. An airline spends the majority of its input cost on acquiring jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF); hence, any change in the prices impacts the financial performance of the firm.

IATA data showed that jet fuel prices have surged 17.6% to a weekly average price of $149.40 per barrel (bbl) as of the week ended July 17, compared to the previous week's level of $127.06 per bbl as of July 10, 2026.

Looking ahead, the CEO also said that the airline has extended its fuel cost hedge, which is now 15% hedged at $85 per bbl for the financial year 2027-28.

“Ryanair’s conservative hedging policy (FY27 fuel is 80% hedged at $67 bbl) insulates Group earnings during volatile oil markets and widens our cost advantage over all other EU competitors. We recently extended our fuel hedges (on price dips) into FY28, which is now 15% hedged at $85 bbl,” Michael O’Leary, the CEO of Ryanair, said in his statement.

How have Ryanair Holdings ADR performed?

Investing.com data showed that Ryanair Holdings ADR shares have delivered more than 56% returns to their investors in the last five years, and over 11% gains in the last one year period.

Although the company’s stock has lost 10% in the last six months, Ryanair Holdings ADR shares have gained 3.4% in the last three months. The exchange data also showed that the stock has risen 2.1% in the last on month period.

Ryanair Holdings ADR shares have lost 2% in the last one-week period and ended nearly 6% lower after the trading session on Friday, July 17, 2026.

The company shares surged to a 52-week high of $74.24, while the 52-week low was at $53.14, according to the exchange data. Ryanair Holdings ADR shares' market capitalisation (m-cap) was at $30.84 billion.

Euronext Dublin data showed that the Ryanair Holdings shares were trading 6.7% lower at 24.26 euros as of 11:25 am local time, compared to 25.96 euros at the previous stock market close.