Photo: Maurice King, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Image resized.
Boeing narrowed its third-quarter net loss to $116 million from $5.34 billion a year earlier and generated positive free cash flow, the company said Tuesday, but its commercial-airplane business remained in the red as production and supply-chain costs weighed on its recovery.
Revenue rose 4% to $24.19 billion. The loss was 26 cents a share under standard accounting rules, while Boeing’s adjusted core loss was 34 cents a share. Operating cash flow reached $1.50 billion, and free cash flow, which subtracts spending on property and equipment, was $464 million.
Commercial jets remain the weak point
Boeing delivered 161 commercial airplanes, barely above 160 a year earlier. Commercial-airplane revenue fell to $10.72 billion from $11.09 billion, and the division reported a $697 million operating loss.
The company attributed that performance to a less favorable mix of deliveries, higher projected costs tied to future production-rate changes and higher estimated supply-chain costs. Its much larger year-earlier commercial loss included a charge on the 777X program, an important reason the comparison improved so sharply.
Boeing said the 737 program continues moving toward stable production of 47 aircraft a month. The 787 remains at eight a month, while the company still expects the first 777-9 delivery in 2027, subject to the certification work ahead.
For airlines and passengers, those milestones concern how quickly new aircraft can enter fleets. Tuesday’s financial results do not themselves change flight schedules or establish that ticket prices will fall.
Orders grow faster than current deliveries
The commercial division booked 300 net orders, including orders from Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and Lufthansa. Its backlog exceeded 6,300 aircraft, valued at a record $612 billion. Total company backlog reached $745 billion.
A backlog is work still to be delivered, not revenue already collected. Converting those orders into completed aircraft remains central to Boeing’s recovery.
Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg cited certification of the 737-7 and 737-10 and selection for the Navy’s next-generation fighter program as progress, while saying the company remained focused on safety, quality and execution. The Navy fighter award was not included in backlog because a source-selection and evaluation review was still pending.
Defense and services support the quarter
Defense, Space & Security revenue rose 15% to $7.94 billion, with operating earnings of $492 million. That result included a $252 million gain from the sale of HRL Laboratories, alongside improved operational performance. Global Services revenue rose 4% to $5.57 billion.
Boeing ended the quarter with $20.7 billion in cash and marketable securities and $45.9 billion in debt. Operating cash flow was helped by working-capital timing and partly offset by approximately $700 million in Justice Department settlement payments.
The positive quarter did not erase the year’s cash deficit: free cash flow for the first nine months was negative $359 million. Management is scheduled to discuss the results and outlook at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday.
JBizNews Desk | Arlington, Va.
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