Airbus Going Cheap  

While the airlines are taking the brunt of high oil prices, Airbus hasn't been immune to the malaise either, with the market apparently valuing the plane business at zero. From Bloomberg:

Airbus SAS, the world's largest commercial aircraft maker, is valued at ``less than zero'' after this year's 32 percent drop in the shares of parent European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co., according to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. analyst Joe Campbell. ``The market is viewing Airbus as a liability, rather than an asset,'' said Campbell, 62, who is based in New York and has ranked among the top five aerospace analysts for six consecutive years in an Institutional Investor magazine poll.

EADS, based in Paris and Munich, on May 13 reported an additional three-month delay in deliveries of the A380 superjumbo jetliner, which was already two years behind schedule. Before the latest setback, the company had cut its profit forecast by $6 billion through 2010. ...

EADS's non-Airbus assets, including helicopters, satellites, rockets, fighters and defense electronics, are worth 15 or 16 euros a share, or about where the stock is trading, estimates Campbell. Non-Airbus businesses contribute a third of the company's sales, which totaled 39.1 billion euros in 2007.

Scott Babka and Rupinder Vig at Morgan Stanley in London say EADS without Airbus is worth 13.5 euros a share. Getting an aircraft maker for free might provide a floor for the stock, according to Vig.