Why Boeing has suffered a $5B financial hit
What's the story
Boeing has reported a nearly $5 billion charge related to its delayed 777X jet program. The company now expects the first delivery of this aircraft in 2027, pushing back the timeline from an earlier estimate of 2026. This delay is a major setback for Boeing as it had originally planned to deliver the aircraft in 2020 when the program was launched in 2013.
Certification challenges
No new technical problems identified
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg recently admitted that the company is lagging behind in certifying the 777X jet. He described it as a "mountain of work" that still needs to be done, but assured that no new technical problems have been identified.
Production progress
FAA approves increase in production of flagship 737 MAX
After years of dealing with quality issues and production delays on its flagship 737 MAX, Boeing has slowly increased monthly output in 2025. Earlier this month, the US Federal Aviation Administration approved the company's request to ramp up production to 42 jets per month, from a cap of 38 that had been in place since January 2024. The cap was imposed after an incident where a nearly new aircraft suffered a mid-air panel blowout.
Financial update
Boeing's net loss goes down in September quarter
Boeing reported a net loss of $5.34 billion, or $7.14 per share, for the quarter ending September. This was an improvement over last year's loss of $6.17 billion, or $9.97 per share during the same period. The firm delivered 55 jets in September, its best performance for that month since 2018 and a huge jump from last year's 33 deliveries due to a strike involving 33,000 factory workers in the Pacific Northwest region.