Boeing's stock rallies as surprisingly large loss is offset by upbeat revenue and backlog

By Tomi Kilgore

Sales outpace Wall Street expectations as defense business comes through even as commercial airplane sales miss their mark

Boeing's stock is rallying after revenue beats Wall Street's forecast.

Shares of Boeing rose in early Tuesday trading as investors shrugged off what was a surprisingly large second-quarter loss to focus on a revenue beat, which was fueled by strength in the aerospace giant's defense and space business.

The company's (BA) commercial airplane business saw revenue increase from a year earlier for a sixth straight quarter, as production of its 737 jets began transitioning during the quarter to a 47-per-month rate from 42.

"Our operations are more stable, and key certification programs remain on plan," said CEO Kelly Ortberg. "Our focus has been on restoring trust, and we are now building on that through a sustained focus on safety, quality and on-time performance."

The stock was up 1.7% in premarket trading. That put it on track for a fifth straight gain, after it closed at a nearly four-month low on July 21.

Net losses for the quarter to June 30 narrowed 30.9% to $448 million. The adjusted loss per share, which excludes nonrecurring items, narrowed to 76 cents from $1.24, but that was much wider than the average per-share loss estimate, 17 cents, compiled by FactSet.

Total revenue grew 8% to $22.56 billion, but that missed the FactSet consensus of $24.17 billion.

Commercial airplane revenue increased 8.1% to $11.75 billion. The company booked 246 net orders and delivered 171 planes.

The company's defense, space and security revenue jumped 13.1% to $7.48 billion.

The total company backlog, which rose to a record $715 billion, included over 6,200 commercial airplanes.

Boeing's stock has slipped 2.6% in 2026 through Tuesday, while U.S.-listed shares of rival Airbus (EADSY) have gained 2.2% and the S&P 500 index SPX has advanced 8.3%.

-Tomi Kilgore

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07-28-26 0824ET