Boeing 777X on display at the Paris International Air Show held at Paris Le Bourget Airport on June 20, 2023.
Geoffroy van der Hasselt AFP | Getty Images
boeing announced Wednesday that jetliner deliveries have brought it back into profitable territory for the first time in nearly two years, but additional delays for its long-awaited 777X widebody jet have cost it $4.9 billion.
Boeing is on track to deliver the most planes this year since 2018, before two crashes grounded its best-selling jetliner, the coronavirus pandemic devastated supply chains and a number of manufacturing crises caused years of losses for America’s top exporter.
CEO Kelly Ortberg, an aerospace veteran who returned from retirement to take the reins at Boeing in August 2024, has worked to stabilize the company’s vast supply chain and cash-generating production lines.
The latest version of the 777, the 777X, made its first flight about six years ago but has yet to win regulatory approval. Boeing now says it expects first deliveries in 2027, leading to non-cash charges.
A Boeing 777X aircraft during aviation display on the opening day of the Farnborough International Airshow, UK, Monday, July 18, 2022.
Jason Alden | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“While we still have work to do to advance our development programs, particularly our commercial development and certification programs, we are seeing positive signs across the business and are proud to be coming together to turn the company around,” Ortberg said in a staff note.
Still, Boeing generated $238 million in free cash flow, making it profitable by this metric for the first time since late 2023.
Boeing lost $4.78 billion, or $7.14 per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30. This is better than the $5.76 billion loss in the same period last year. On an adjusted basis, the company reported a loss of $7.47 per share. Revenue for the third quarter was $23.27 billion, up 30% from $17.84 billion in the same period last year, and beat analyst expectations.
A year ago, Boeing mechanics went on strike over a contract impasse, halting production at most of the company’s commercial aircraft factories.
Here’s Boeing’s third-quarter results compared to analyst expectations compiled by LSEG:
Loss per share: $7.47 per share adjusted, $4.59 expected Lost earnings: $23.27 billion, $21.97 billion expected
Airline customers say they are seeing improvements from Boeing, with more accurate delivery forecasts, a reversal of previous complaints.
In the first nine months of this year, Boeing delivered 440 aircraft, up from 291 in the same period last year. Airlines and other customers pay most of the price when they receive the planes, so increasing the pace of deliveries will be key for Boeing in stemming a total cash outflow of nearly $17 billion between early 2024 and June of this year.
Last year was supposed to be a transformational year for Boeing, but a near-catastrophe in January 2024 when a door panel exploded in mid-air sparked heightened federal scrutiny and production stalled.
But Boeing has made progress. Earlier this month, the US Federal Aviation Administration lifted the production cap for the Boeing 737 MAX, which had been put in place after the crash, from 38 to 42 per month.
The FAA is now allowing Boeing to give final approval for some aircraft, a sign of increased confidence from regulators.
Boeing’s commercial sales rose 49% from a year earlier to $11.09 billion, but operating margins remained negative. The company’s defense division earned $6.9 billion in the third quarter, up 25% from a year earlier, with an operating margin of 1.7%, while its profitable global services business brought in nearly $5.4 billion, up 10%.
The company is not out of the woods. The Max 7 and Max 10 versions and the 777X are several years behind schedule.
Also, about 3,200 employees of the Defense Force, which manufactures F-15 fighter jets and missile systems, have been on strike since the summer because the two countries have not yet reached a new contract.
