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Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said the expected impact of tariffs on the jet maker’s bottom line remains unchanged after a federal court struck down many of President Trump's trade levies. Ortberg, speaking Thursday at an event, said he expects the U.S. to eventually win duty exemptions on plane parts from Italy and Japan, which comprise the bulk of Boeing’s imported parts. The U.S. has reached a trade deal framework with the U.K.
Given that, Ortberg said, the biggest tariff-related threat facing Boeing remains retaliatory tariffs from other governments. The company got caught in the crosshairs of the U.S.-China trade war last month when Chinese airlines halted deliveries of Boeing jets. China has since allowed deliveries to resume. Ortberg said that Chinese airlines have told the company they will resume taking deliveries of Boeing jets next month.
“We have to make sure we don’t have other regions where we take retaliatory tariffs,” he said. Boeing’s status as the largest U.S. exporter also presents an opportunity, he said, as the Trump administration pushes nations to rebalance trade relationships. “There is no better way to do that quickly than through the purchase of aircraft,” he said. Boeing has said it expects U.S. import tariffs to cost the company less than $500 million this year.
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Boeing also admitted to conspiracy to obstruct Federal Aviation Administration operations Boeing will pay $1.1 billion to avoid prosecution for two crashes of its 737 MAX jets. The agreement with the Justice Department requires the company to put $455 million toward strengthening its compliance, safety and quality programs, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Wednesday. Boeing will also give $444.5 million to the families of crash victims under the agreement, which was tentatively reached last month. Boeing is required to pay a criminal monetary penalty of $487.2 million, half of which was paid in 2021 under a previous agreement. The new deal means Boeing avoids a trial that was scheduled to start June 23 in connection with the two crashes, which left 346 people dead.
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The jet maker said it could deliver more planes this quarter than previously forecast. Boeing's chief financial officer said the jet maker was on track to deliver more planes and burn less cash this quarter than previously expected, boosting its stock early Wednesday.
“We think we’re off to a good start for the year,” Chief Financial Officer Brian West said at an investor conference.
Boeing burned through nearly $14 billion last year as it waded through a quality-control crisis and other snafus, and previously said it expected to add $4 billion to that tally this quarter.
But West said Wednesday the company may burn hundreds of millions of dollars less than anticipated.
He also said jet deliveries could be higher than previously expected. Boeing delivered 89 planes in January and February, up from 54 in the first two months of 2024 immediately following the Alaska Airlines fuselage panel blowout.
Boeing shares rose more than 6% in morning trading following West's comments.
West said the company wasn't sweating the potential financial fallout from tariffs at this point.
The vast majority of parts for Boeing’s commercial and military jets and other equipment comes from the U.S., and the company has an extensive parts backlog after production was slowed or shut down for much of last year.
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A Boeing 737-800 operated by Virgin Australia. Boeing needs to churn out more 737 narrowbodies to shore up its finances.
Boeing delivered jets at a steady clip in February, but shipped out fewer of its profitable 737 MAXs than in January.
The aerospace company delivered 44 planes last month, including 32 737s. That was down from 40 737 deliveries the month before.
Boeing needs to churn out more of the bestselling 737 narrowbodies to shore up its finances. Analysts say Boeing is approaching the 38-per-month rate Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg says is needed for the company to turn cash-flow positive.
February’s tally of deliveries also included five 787 Dreamliners, five of its soon-to-be-discontinued 767s and a pair of 777 freighters. China was a big recipient, accounting for eight of the deliveries.
Boeing booked 13 orders in February, all for MAX planes. Its backlog was 5,528 planes at the end of February.
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Foreign visitor arrivals to Japan rose 47% to a record 36.9 million in 2024
ANA Holdings announced on Tuesday that it has decided to order up to 77 aircraft from the three companies
ANA Holdings plans to buy more than $14 billion of jets from Boeing, Airbus and Embraer, partly to meet rising travel demand to Japan.
The Japanese airline on Tuesday said it decided to order up to 77 aircraft from the three companies to support medium- to long-term international growth and meet demand changes in its domestic operations. The carrier had restricted fleet renewal during the pandemic.
The planes have a total catalog price of about 2.158 trillion yen, equivalent to $14.41 billion, and are expected to be delivered by around 2033.
ANA said the group’s fleet will rise to about 320 jets by around 2030.
ANA said it will order 18 Boeing 787-9s in anticipation of strong travel demand between Asia and North America. For domestic routes, it will order up to 20 Embraer E190-E2s, which the company hopes will help reduce fuel consumption. It will also order up to 39 other planes primarily to update its current fleet.
Foreign visitor arrivals to Japan rose 47% to a record 36.9 million in 2024, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.
In March last year, Japan Airlines said it planned to buy 42 jets from Airbus and Boeing to be delivered over the next decade. Catalog prices of the 42 aircraft totaled Y1.870 trillion, according to figures provided by the company.
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Boeing’s new CEO made $18.4 million in compensation last year after taking over the beleaguered jetmaker in August.
CEO Kelly Ortberg’s pay for the five months on the job included $16 million in stock and options, a salary of $525,000 and a $1.25 million signing bonus, Boeing said Friday in a regulatory filing.
Ousted CEO David Calhoun received $15 million, including $1.3 million in salary and equity awards valued at $13.2 million. That’s less than half of the $33 million Calhoun received, mostly stock compensation, in 2023.
Calhoun received no buyout and neither leader received performance bonuses for a year that started with a near-catastrophic fuselage-panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight and culminated in a strike by the company’s largest union.
Most of the company's top executives received lower overall pay last year compared to 2023.
Boeing is burning through billions of dollars and, in addition to the quality crisis in its commercial airline manufacturing operations, it is struggling with a money-losing defense business and troubled space program.
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Loss of factory that made fasteners for jets threatens Boeing’s plan to get production back on track; ‘We’ll get through it,’ CEO says
The fire at SPS Technologies, in Abington Township, Pa., broke out Feb. 17 and took several days to extinguish.
A fire tore through an airplane-parts factory last month in suburban Philadelphia, decimating the century-old plant. Boeing BA -0.17%decrease; red down pointing triangle has been racing ever since to size up whether it will delay the jet maker’s turnaround plans.
Equal in size to about 10 football fields, the factory, operated by a Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B 0.02%increase; green up pointing triangle company, was the sole supplier of some critical fasteners used in Boeing planes. Fallout from the blaze now threatens the aerospace company’s effort to get its manufacturing operations back on track.
Boeing is searching to find alternative suppliers, but replacing the parts isn’t an easy task. Many might look like typical bolts, but the fasteners must be manufactured to hold up to the demands of air travel, and some of the designs are complex. They are used in jet engines, landing gear and other parts of the plane.
The plant’s loss won’t have an immediate effect on production, the company said, but suppliers and analysts expect fallout as Boeing works through its parts supply.
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European plane maker posts higher revenue and profit for the first quarter
Airbus posted higher revenue and profit for the first quarter, backed its goal to deliver more planes this year than in 2023 and decided to increase production of its A350 wide-body jets, extending its lead over beleaguered rival Boeing.
The European plane maker confirmed its target to deliver about 800 commercial aircraft to customers this year, more than the 735 planes it dispatched in 2023.
Airbus’s optimism that deliveries will keep growing comes as Boeing grapples with the fallout from an Alaska Airlines emergency landing in January after a door plug ripped away in midair, prompting a temporary grounding and immediate inspections of Boeing 737 MAX jets.
Airbus handed 142 planes to customers in the first quarter, up nearly 12% versus a year ago. Boeing, on the other hand, delivered just 83, a 36% drop from a year ago.
The U.S. company, under pressure from airlines and regulators to ensure safety and quality in its production processes, reported a net loss and declining revenue in the first quarter, showing diverging fortunes with Airbus.
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