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Boeing Sinks on Wider Loss, Slower 737 Ramp

Boeing's shares dropped sharply after third-quarter results showed a wider core loss than expected and a slower 737 Max build-up, pushing back the point at which its record order book turns into cash.

Boeing (NYSE: BA), the US maker of 737, 787 and 777 jets and military aircraft, fell about 9.7% today after third-quarter results showed a wider core loss than analysts expected. The shares are at their lowest since April 2025.

The stock was at $170.05 at about 4.16pm UK time, a delayed quote with the US session still running, against yesterday’s close of $188.31. The weekly high was $254.35, in January.

BA.US

Results published before the US open showed a core loss of $0.34 a share, which strips out one-off accounting items, against a Zacks consensus loss of $0.21. Commercial Airplanes, the jetliner division, lost $697m at the operating level, against an average loss of $303.79m among three analysts polled.

The slide looks tied to Boeing’s message that it will not significantly raise 737 Max output until the second half of 2027. Boeing says the programme is moving towards a stable 47 jets a month, and chief executive Kelly Ortberg said that stabilisation will run through the rest of this year into early next.

The headline numbers were better than a year ago. Boeing’s net loss narrowed to $116m from $5.34bn, which was largely 777X charges, and free cash flow, the cash left after running costs and investment, rose to $464m from $238m. Backlog, orders signed but not yet delivered, hit a record $745.43bn, up from $682.21bn at the end of 2025. A slower ramp means that backlog converts into deliveries and cash more slowly.

Line chart of Boeing weekly share prices from April 2025 to October 2026, falling to $170 on 27 October 2026
Boeing weekly closes, April 2025 to 27 October 2026; the last point is an intraday quote, not a close.

On the pace of the build-up, Ortberg was direct.

I know everybody wants us to go faster, but we’re going to do it right,

Kelly Ortberg, Boeing chief executive

Ortberg said Boeing will generate positive free cash flow in 2026 and expects to reach its $10bn annual target, with growth year on year. No date has been set for that target.

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