Boeing’s 2025 Recovery Gathers Pace—Will China’s Airbus Pivot Derail It?

Boeing (NYSE:) stock gained as the company continues its operational turnaround under CEO Kelly Ortberg, but reports of China’s potential order for 200-500 Airbus jets highlight the ongoing challenges.

Boeing’s impressive 2025 recovery story faces a potential setback as reports emerge that China is considering a massive order for hundreds of Airbus aircraft, potentially worth tens of billions of dollars. While Boeing shares continue their steady climb with gains of 13.6% year-to-date, reports of China further cementing its relationship with European rival Airbus threaten to complicate the American aerospace giant’s path back to profitability and market leadership.

Boeing’s Recovery Momentum Shows Promise

Boeing shares closed at $213.43, up 0.93% for the day and continuing the company’s impressive 2025 performance with year-to-date gains of 20.58% compared to the ’s modest 1.51% increase.

The aerospace manufacturer has delivered solid returns over multiple periods, with one-year gains of 15.64% and three-year performance of 53.27%, demonstrating investor confidence in the company’s turnaround efforts. Boeing’s market capitalization now stands at $160.927 billion, reflecting its position as a major player in the global aerospace industry despite ongoing challenges.

The stock trades within a 52-week range of $128.88 to $215.80, with recent performance near the upper end of this range showing sustained investor optimism. Key financial metrics reveal the extent of Boeing’s operational challenges, including negative profit margins of 16.58%, diluted earnings per share of negative $17.95, and negative free cash flow of $7.94 billion.

However, the company maintains substantial cash reserves of $23.65 billion, providing financial flexibility during the recovery period. CEO Kelly Ortberg, appointed in August 2024, has been instrumental in improving operational execution and rebuilding confidence among regulators, customers, and investors following years of quality and safety concerns.

Boeing’s Operational Progress Under Ortberg’s Leadership

Boeing has made significant strides in addressing its three primary objectives for 2025 under CEO Kelly Ortberg’s leadership, demonstrating improved operational discipline and regulatory compliance.

The company received Federal Aviation Administration approval to expand flight testing for the 777X program, with management confirming the target for first delivery to Lufthansa in 2026, a critical milestone for the wide-body aircraft program.

Emirates, a key 777X customer, recently confirmed its expectation for first delivery by the end of 2026, providing additional validation of Boeing’s timeline commitments. Boeing remains on track to achieve its target production rate of 38 aircraft per month for the 737 MAX, with Ortberg outlining plans to subsequently increase the rate to 42 per month and then raise it in increments of five per month, pending FAA approval and quality demonstrations.

The company must prove to regulators that it can maintain high-quality standards at the 38 per month rate before the production cap is lifted, representing a crucial test of Boeing’s manufacturing capabilities.

The defense business has shown remarkable improvement, generating its first profit in the first quarter after years of losses, marking a significant operational turnaround. Boeing’s Defense, Space & Security division achieved “estimated-at-completion stability” in the quarter, indicating improved cost forecasting and project management on problematic fixed-price contracts that had previously generated substantial losses.

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Neither the author, Tim Fries, nor this website, The Tokenist, provide financial advice. Please consult our website policy prior to making financial decisions.

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