Daily newsletter · Wed 28 Oct 2026
Boeing fell 10.69% after pushing its 737 recovery into next year
Boeing shares closed at US$168.18 on Tuesday, their worst day since April 2025. The company now says it will fall short of its target of about 500 737 deliveries this year.
The problem is how fast Boeing can build planes. It has been trying to hold 737 output steady at 47 jets a month. Chief executive Kelly Ortberg said that is taking longer than expected, and Boeing now expects to get there early next year. It had been aiming for this northern summer.
Wings are the main bottleneck. A dispute with a wing-parts supplier has also held up work on the 777 freighter and the 767.
Fewer deliveries means less cash, because airlines pay most of a plane's price when they take it. Boeing expects free cash flow, the cash left after running the business and buying equipment, of about US$3 billion next year. Jefferies' Sheila Kahyaoglu said Wall Street had expected US$5.5 billion.
The quarter itself was better. Boeing lost US$116 million, far less than a year ago, and its order backlog reached a record US$745 billion.
Boeing is aiming for US$10 billion of free cash flow in 2029, with 737 output of 52 to 58 a month. The orders are there, and the factories are the constraint. I'd want to see rate 47 hold for a few months before trusting the later numbers.
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