Catenaa, Wednesday, April 22, 2026- Boeing topped expectations in the first quarter, as the company’s turnaround got a boost from higher deliveries.
Boeing reported revenue of $22.2 billion, up 14% year over year and above the $21.79 billion expected according to Bloomberg consensus.
The aviation giant’s adjusted (or core) loss per share came in at $0.20 vs. $0.76 expected.
Aside from the headline numbers, the metrics that matter most right now are deliveries, cash burn, and whether CEO Kelly Ortberg’s turnaround playbook is holding up.
Importantly, Boeing posted a negative adjusted free cash flow of $1.454 billion, smaller than the $2.61 billion expected.
Operating cash flow came in at negative $179 million, a vast improvement over the negative $1.6 billion reported a year ago.
Boeing stock jumped by 5% on Wednesday. The stock is up by 6% so far this year.
“We’re building on our momentum with a strong start to the year and growing record-breaking backlog across our business, while supporting our customers with inspiring missions like Artemis II,” Ortberg said in a statement.
Earlier in the month, Boeing reported 143 commercial aircraft deliveries for the quarter — up compared to the 130 delivered a year ago and steadily improving since the Alaska Air door plug blowout in early 2024.
Boeing also outdelivered Airbus for the first time since approximately 2019, besting the European giant’s 114 deliveries.
The workhorse 737 Max accounted for 114 of Boeing’s 143 commercial shipments — roughly 80% of total output. Widebody deliveries came in at 29 jets, comprising fifteen 787 Dreamliners, eight 777s, and six 767s.
The company has confirmed a sustained production rate of 38 Max aircraft per month as of late March, with Ortberg signaling incremental rate increases at five-per-month intervals. A fourth 737 assembly line is expected to open at Boeing’s Renton, Wash., assembly plant this summer, potentially pushing combined narrowbody output toward 53 aircraft per month by the end of the year.
When Ortberg took the CEO role in 2024, Boeing was still reeling from a safety crisis, a crippling machinists’ strike, and years of quality and production missteps. Since then, Ortberg’s priorities have been to improve conditions and morale on the factory floor, repair trust with regulators and customers, and flip the company back to cash flow positive.
The company has guided to a positive free cash flow of $1 billion to $3 billion for full-year 2026, with analysts on average modeling for adjusted free cash flow in the $2.24 billion range.
In January, Boeing reported its backlog grew to a record $682 billion, including over 6,100 commercial airplanes, indicating global demand for air travel remains high despite soaring fuel costs and overall inflation stemming from the US-Israeli war with Iran.
