boeing The company doesn’t expect to significantly increase production of its best-selling 737 Max plane until late 2027 as it grapples with a slower-than-expected pace of wing production.
Boeing is targeting production of 52 planes per month in the second half of 2027, CEO Kelly Ortberg said Tuesday during the company’s quarterly earnings call. The company builds about 47 737 Max planes a month.
Ortberg told investors last month that because of the pace of wing production, it would take “a little longer” than expected for production to stabilize.
Boeing shares fell about 9% during the call.
“I know everyone wants us to go faster, but we’re going to do it right,” Ortberg told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau in an interview Tuesday.
Ortberg reiterated Tuesday that stabilizing production is the company’s priority.
“As we look to the future, expectations are high, and they should be,” Ortberg said in a memo to staff Tuesday. “This means improving performance through lean productivity and increased efficiency in day-to-day operations, while maintaining high levels of safety and quality.”
Aircraft production and delivery will be key to Boeing’s recovery, since most of the price of an aircraft is paid when the customer receives the aircraft.
3rd quarter earnings
The company also reported on Tuesday that its third-quarter loss narrowed thanks to strengthening in its defense division.
For the three months ended Sept. 30, Boeing reported a net loss of $116 million, or 26 cents per share, compared with a loss of $5.34 billion, or $7.14 per share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company reported a loss of 34 cents per share. A year ago, Boeing was spending nearly $5 billion on its long-delayed 777X aircraft program.
Sales increased 4% year on year to $24.19 billion. Free cash flow increased to $464 million from $238 million in the third quarter of 2025.
The company’s defense division’s sales rose 15% year over year to $7.94 billion in the third quarter.
Here’s how Boeing reported in the third quarter compared to Wall Street analysts’ expectations, according to LSEG consensus estimates.
Loss per share: 34 cents adjusted, 21 cents expected Earnings: $24.19 billion versus $23.84 billion expected.
Boeing delivered 161 commercial aircraft in the third quarter, one more than in the same period last year.
Revenue from its most important commercial aircraft business fell 3% to $10.72 billion. The division’s operating profit margin was negative 6.5%. The reasons for this are “a less favorable delivery mix, higher expected costs associated with future production rate adjustments, and higher estimated supply chain costs,” Boeing said.
Ortberg told staff in a memo that manufacturers “still have work to do.”
Earn certification
This manufacturer has scored some wins recently. The U.S. Navy commissioned Boeing to develop a next-generation fighter jet.
And last week, the Federal Aviation Administration approved development of the 737 Max 10, the largest member of the Max family. This follows the approval of the 737 Max 7 in August and is the final certification for this aircraft line.
