(Dec 2): Boeing Co expects to generate cash again in 2026, a significant reversal in the planemaker’s finances as it prepares to boost monthly production rates and pushes ahead with certification for the much-delayed 777X jetliner.
The US company expects positive free cash flow to reach the “low-single digits” next year, reversing the US$2 billion cash burn seen for 2025, said chief financial officer Jay Malave, in his first solo presentation at an investor conference since being named to the post in August.
The assurances propelled Boeing’s shares, with the stock advancing 6.5%, the most since April. Malave’s comments provided the first detailed look at the planemaker’s cash projections for 2026, a year when Boeing’s comeback should gain momentum if jet deliveries keep rising while factories and the supply chain stabilise.
Longer term, the company still expects to eventually reach the US$10 billion cash-generation target outlined by the previous management team, Malave said.
“There’s just no reason why we can’t get to that once we get to these higher rates on the aircraft,” Malave told a UBS conference. “I’m very comfortable saying that we can absolutely deliver US$10 billion.”
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The CFO cited a steadily improving production cadence in Boeing’s factories, especially for its 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner jets, and the reduction of its inventory of undelivered aircraft as reasons for optimism, alongside improving profitability at its defence division and steady growth for its services operations.
Analysts expect Boeing to generate US$2.46 billion in free cash flow next year, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That would be an improvement from the cumulative US$2.25 billion cash outflow recorded during the first nine months of this year.
Still, analysts have pared their free cash flow predictions by more than half since mid-July, according to those estimates. That’s after Boeing’s revelation that it faced further delays on its 777X, pushing its largest in-production jet more than seven years behind schedule to 2027.
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Boeing took a US$4.9 billion accounting charge in October, citing slower than expected progress in the flight-testing of the hulking jet. Malave said the delay would bring about US$2 billion of “pressure” to next year’s cash generation.
The company also expects to make a large payment to the US Justice Department next year to resolve a case stemming from two fatal crashes of its 737 MAX. Malave also cautioned that the largest 737 model, the MAX 10, likely won’t be certified for commercial service until later in 2026, pushing some deliveries into 2027.
Boeing’s free cash flow hasn’t been positive on an annual basis since 2023. After years of turmoil, the planemaker is working to whittle down its debt load and invest in projects that will secure its future.
Adding urgency to the turnaround is the fact that the company faces US$8 billion in debt payments next year, and plans to quickly pay down another US$3 billion in Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. obligations once the acquisition of the supplier closes. Approval of the complex deal reuniting Boeing with its former subsidiary is in the latter stages, Malave said.
Boeing lost a cumulative US$39 billion during the first half of this decade, including US$13.1 billion last year as it faced a crippling strike and a near-catastrophe that sparked federal investigations and a leadership shake-up.
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