Boeing overtook Airbus in deliveries and reduced cash outflows. What about the stock?

US aircraft giant Boeing cut cash outflows and losses in the first quarter, beating analysts' expectations, amid a rise in airplane deliveries to their highest since 2019. At the same time, the company outpaced its main rival, Europe's Airbus Corporation, in deliveries by the most since 2018. Customer and investor confidence is returning.

- Cash outflow in the first quarter decreased from $2.29 billion a year earlier to $1.45 billion. Analysts predicted an outflow of $2.61 billion, Bloomberg writes. The funds were mainly spent on significant investments in the expansion of production facilities: for the production of the 787 airliner, the opening of the 737 MAX assembly line and military aircraft, explains Reuters.

- The company's first-quarter net loss narrowed about 77 percent year-over-year to $7 million, or $0.11 per share - compared with analysts' average forecast of $0.83, according to LSEG.

- Commercial aircraft deliveries increased 10% to 143 units, the highest level since 2019, boosting unit sales by 13% and total revenue by 14% to about $22.2 billion. Still, the commercial aviation business remained a loss of $563 million.

The company continues to expand production of the 737 family, seeing it as a key step toward financial recovery and deleveraging, Bloomberg notes. Boeing now produces about 42 narrow-body airplanes a month and expects to increase the volume to 47 by the end of the year, Chief Financial Officer Jay Ma Mawe said in March. At the same time, the company managed to ship 29 more airplanes than its European rival Airbus - its strongest lead since 2018, the Financial Times notes.

- The defense and space division increased revenues by 21% to $7.6 billion in the first quarter, while operating margin grew by 0.6 p.p. and reached 3.1%. It was Boeing - in partnership with Northrop Grumman - that developed the Space Launch System rocket, which hurriedly put the Artemis II mission into the Moon's orbit, Reuters recalls.

"We are making progress in strengthening our corporate culture and rebuilding customer confidence while growing our order book to nearly $700 billion," Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said. In an interview with Reuters, he said he did not expect major shocks to the company because of the war with Iran. "We have not had a dialog with any customer about postponing deliveries. This is a business with a very long cycle and I would be surprised to see any significant changes," he said. In contrast, Ortberg said, customers are showing interest in the slots being freed up, "If there are windows because of delays, they are willing to take them up and get those airplanes."

Boeing shares jumped 5.7% in trading on April 22, up 6.6% YTD.

Boeing said April 14 that it was forced to rework about 25 737 Max planes after equipment was found to have damaged wiring. Deliveries of some 787 Dreamliner aircraft have also been delayed due to a shortage of seats and cabin interior components. These problems, as well as difficulties integrating Spirit AeroSystems, an aircraft components maker acquired in late 2025, impacted first-quarter results, Bloomberg writes.

The company is still rebuilding trust with regulators and customers after two 2018 disasters involving 737 Maxes - in Indonesia and Ethiopia - and an incident in January 2024 when an Alaska Airlines jetliner had a fuselage panel tear off during flight.

Brian Bedford, head of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, told Bloomberg on April 21 that no problems have been identified that would cause the certification of the new 737 Max 7 and 737 Max 10 variants to be delayed beyond 2026, noting that the models are still undergoing flight tests.

In March, Boeing CFO Ma Mawe said the company expects the commercial aviation division to reach profitability in 2027, not 2026 as previously estimated.

Melius Research analyst Scott Mikus said the airplane delivery figures show "significant progress in Boeing's recovery and indicate that production ramp-up is starting to convert into shipments, a key metric that ultimately generates revenue and cash flow," the FT reports.

Jefferies after publication of the report reiterated its recommendation to buy Boeing shares and target price at $295. This target implies the shares growth by 34.7% relative to the last closing.

According to the consensus of analysts on Boeing shares, positive recommendations prevail: 22 out of 27 experts advise to buy these securities, another four suggest to keep the shares in the portfolio, and only one - to sell.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor