Catenaa, Sunday, December 07, 2025- President Donald Trump’s plan to take government equity stakes in strategic industries doesn’t apply to major defense firms, the head of Boeing’s defense unit said Saturday.
“It really only applies on the supply chain, particularly for the smaller companies coming through where that might be a way forward for them to get some equity,” Steve Parker, Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said on a panel at the Reagan National Defense Forum, an annual industry event in Simi Valley, California.
“I don’t think it really applies to the Primes,” Parker added, referring to big legacy defense contractors like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, RTX , and Northrop Grumman.
Parker pointed to Boeing’s recent billions invested in St. Louis, Missouri, where the company makes fighter jets.
In August, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump administration was weighing equity stakes in major defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, a move that sent shares of Lockheed, Boeing, and other defense firms higher.
This year, the Trump administration has taken equity stakes in chipmaker Intel and rare earths company MP Materials, in an effort to prioritize national security in critical sectors where China has become increasingly dominant. Trump has said the government will take stakes in more companies.
Earlier last week, Boeing Chief Financial Officer Jay Malave said that the company expects positive free cash flow to reach the “low-single digits” billions of dollars next year, reversing the $2 billion cash burn seen for 2025.
Longer term, the company still expects to eventually reach the $10 billion cash-generation target outlined by the previous management team, Malave said. That goal, initially set for 2025, had been pushed back repeatedly as Boeing battled through a series of crises.
Boeing Stock gained by over 6.8% in the last week following the news, and has gained by over 14% so far this year.
