Why Boeing's commercial-airplane business suffered another large loss even as revenue surged

By Tomi Kilgore and Claudia Assis

Plane deliveries rose and revenue surged as Boeing's defense and space business showed strength. But losses were wider than expected.

Boeing's commercial-airplanes business sees a surge in revenue, but losses widened due to certification delays for the 777-9 aircraft.

Shares of Boeing Co. fell on Wednesday after its commercial-airplane business saw revenue rise to the highest level in years, but losses were much wider than expected due to problems with one of its aircraft.

The aerospace and defense giant (BA) recorded another large quarterly loss that was wider than forecast by analysts, punctuated by a $4.9 billion loss taken on the 777X aircraft program associated with certification timing, which was greater than Wall Street expected. That overshadowed strength in Boeing's defense, space and security business, which beat revenue projections and swung to a profit.

"The bigger picture is that Boeing is performing well," with all of its businesses showing incremental improvements, said Tony Bancroft, a fund manager at Gabelli Funds. The company's free cash flow is positive, and the overall outlook remains strong, he said.

"The 777X has had some issues, but the demand for the aircraft is strong, and Boeing will get it to work," Bancroft said.

Boeing's stock was on track to see a four-session win streak snapped.

The commercial-airplanes unit did get some good news during the quarter, as the Federal Aviation Administration lifted some safety-monitoring restrictions and allowed the company to boost 737 MAX production to 42 planes per month from 38.

The business also delivered a 38% increase in deliveries from a year ago to 160 planes and a 49% jump in revenue to $11.09 billion - the most for that business segment since the first quarter of 2019. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by FactSet was $10.63 billion.

But the business recorded a loss from operations that widened to $5.35 billion from $4.02 billion, as the company pushed back the expected timing of the certification of the 777-9, with the first delivery now projected to be in the first quarter of 2027.

"While we are disappointed in the 777X schedule delay, the airplane continues to perform well in flight testing, and we remain focused on the work ahead to complete our development programs and stabilize our operations in order to fully recover our company's performance and restore trust with all of our stakeholders," Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg said.

That led to an overall net loss for the quarter that widened to $5.34 billion from $6.17 billion. And the per-share core loss, which excludes some nonrecurring items, narrowed to $7.47 from $10.44, but that was wider than the FactSet loss consensus of $5.01. Boeing has now recorded a core per-share loss for a 17th straight quarter.

Meanwhile, the defense, space and security business saw revenue increase 25% to $6.9 billion, beating a consensus expectation of $6.53 billion. Results got a lift from a contract secured from the U.S. Space Force to boost satellite-communication capabilities.

Global services revenue rose 10% to $5.37 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $5.15 billion.

Boeing's stock has rallied about 23% in 2025 through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 index SPX has advanced around 18%.

-Tomi Kilgore -Claudia Assis

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10-29-25 1047ET