Ryanair Holdings Plc’s relentless focus on rock-bottom fares and no-frills air travel is giving Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary his best chance yet at securing a lavish extravagance in the form of a €100-million bonus.

O’Leary can qualify for the mega payout if the stock of Europe’s biggest budget carrier remains at or above €21 for 28 calendar days. So far, the shares have managed that level for 18 consecutive days, the longest streak yet since the countdown started.

While the options don’t vest until 2028, requiring the CEO to stay with the airline until then to claim the incentive, O’Leary sounded upbeat on a call with analysts that the company can get there.

“There’s a possibility that we might at least hit the performance targets either later this month or hopefully later this year,” O’Leary said on Monday after Ryanair reported earnings that sent up the stock the most since the start of the month. The options “don’t come around for another three years, and a lot can happen between now and then.”

The €100 million payout can only be unlocked if O’Leary either lifts Ryanair’s stock price to or above €21 across 28 consecutive calendar days or increases annual net profit to €2.2 billion before 2028. The incentive was first announced in 2019, but O’Leary agreed in 2022 to extend his contract by five and a half years.

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Ryanair soared as much as 5.4% to a record on Monday after reporting €1.61 billion in profit for fiscal 2025, a 16% drop compared with the previous year. The company announced a €750 million share buyback and said it has canceled almost 36% of its issued share capital since 2008, putting itself in an advantageous financial position.

Analysts at Barclays Plc have questioned the bonus, saying it raises corporate governance concerns because a board decision to buy back shares could in theory drive the share price to the required value.

O’Leary, 64, has been CEO of Ryanair since 1994 and is among Ireland’s wealthiest businessmen. He turned the Irish discounter around when he joined, transforming it into the biggest budget carrier in Europe and the largest buyer of Boeing Co. aircraft outside the US.

The previously longest period that the shares hit €21 consecutively was in March 2024, but only for five days. On Monday, O’Leary defended the possible payout, saying the returns that the airline is providing underscore the bonus.

“I think we’re delivering exceptional value for Ryanair shareholders in an era when premiership footballers and managers are getting paid €20 to €25 million a year,” he said.

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