Boeing Narrows Losses on Strong Sales, Confirms China Halted Deliveries

April 23, 2025 TruthUSA

Robust production and delivery of new commercial aircraft boosted the company’s first-quarter performance.

Following huge losses over the past two years and the grounding of its best-selling plane due to safety issues, Boeing Co. said on April 23 that its ongoing recovery plan is starting to stabilize production, fix its ailing culture, and refocus its workforce on core business. Meanwhile, the company confirmed that China has stopped accepting its aircraft deliveries.

In midday trading on Wall Street, Boeing shares were headed skyward to $171.81, up 5.7 percent. That reverses a downward trend over the past week after reports that China had halted the delivery of all Boeing jets amid the U.S. government’s ongoing trade war with the East Asian country.

During a conference call with Wall Street analysts, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg confirmed that many of the company’s customers in China have refused to take delivery of its commercial aircraft.

“The only region that we have an issue with aircraft delivery today is China. And due to the tariffs, many of our customers in China have indicated they will not take delivery,” Ortberg told Wall Street analysts. “Given the uncertainty, we’re taking a very straightforward approach to dealing with these deliveries.”

Ortberg said Boeing has more than 50 deliveries of its 737 Max commercial aircraft to key customers in China through the rest of 2025. Nine planes headed for China are not yet in production, so the company is reassessing its options and engaging with other customers for possible delivery until the company gets more clarity.

Ortberg also highlighted the Pentagon’s decision to award Boeing the $20 billion contract to develop the F-47, saying it has reinvigorated the company’s 170,000-plus-person workforce. The F-47 is the Air Force’s first sixth-generation fighter aircraft, which is expected to replace the F-22 program.

“Of course, winning the F-47 program was a transformational accomplishment. To be selected as the contractor for the world’s first sixth-generation fighter is a testament to our focused investment in some pretty difficult times and to our dedicated team,” Ortberg said. “This will secure our fighter franchise for decades to come.”

President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the F-47 contract award last month. According to the Pentagon’s preliminary design plans, the F-47 will integrate next-generation stealth, sensor fusion, and long-range strike capabilities to counter U.S. adversaries, including China and Russia.

During the hour-long conference call, Ortberg and his executive team also discussed the impact that the Trump administration’s ongoing tariff policy may have on ongoing and future operations beyond China. Ortberg said Boeing could be impacted operationally in two ways: with input tariffs that impact manufacturing and production costs, and retaliatory tariffs with other countries, such as the 145 percent levy against China.

Ortberg, who took over the company’s reins in August 2024 after former CEO David Calhoun stepped down following several high-profile accidents, said the company is in daily contact with the Trump administration and hopes the trade war with China and ongoing tariff talks with other countries will be resolved soon.

Through the first quarter, Boeing cut first-quarter losses to $0.49 per share, or $37 million, on revenue of $19.5 billion. The Virginia-based aerospace giant reported a first-quarter loss of $1.13 per share on revenue of $16.6 billion in the same period a year ago. According to FactSet, Wall Street forecast a loss of $1.28 per share on revenue of $19.9 billion for this quarter.

Ortberg noted that the strong first quarter performance was primarily due to robust production and delivery of new commercial aircraft deliveries, including the company’s premier 737 commercial aircraft.

According to a new release detailing the company’s first quarter deliveries on April 8, the 737 program gradually increased production and maintains plans to reach 38 per month this year. The 787 program also continued to stabilize output at five per month in the quarter and expects to increase to seven per month this year, according to company officials.

The 777X program also began expanded Federal Aviation Administration certification flight testing in the quarter, and the company still anticipates first delivery of the 777-9 in 2026. Overall, Boeing deliveries across its four commercial aircraft programs jumped to 130 in the first quarter, up from 83 a year ago.

Ortberg reiterated that Boeing’s global commercial fleet is projected to grow by 3.2 percent annually, more slowly than air traffic, as airlines continue to boost productivity by increasing load factors and using airplanes for more hours per day.

Globally, South Asia passenger traffic will increase by 7.4 percent, followed by Southeast Asia (7.2 percent) and Africa (6.4 percent), as emerging markets return to historical growth trends through the forecast period. Eurasia is projected to lead all markets with the most airplane deliveries (22 percent of total), with North America (20 percent) and China (20 percent) close behind.

Boeing said single-aisle airplanes will make up 71 percent of the 2043 fleet after 33,380 new deliveries, serving short- to medium-haul routes with versatility. The global widebody fleet will more than double, with twin-aisles comprising 44 percent of the Middle East fleet.

Meanwhile, Boeing announced after the close of trade on April 22 that it had completed a deal with Thomas Bravo to sell a portion of its digital aviation business for $10.5 billion. The all-cash deal includes the sale of Boeing’s Jeppesen, ForeFlight, AerData, and OzRunways assets to Thoma Bravo, while the former Seattle-based aerospace giant will retain the company’s core digital capabilities that provide commercial and defense customers with fleet maintenance, diagnostics, and repair services.

Regarding the company’s ongoing restructuring and recovery plan, Ortberg said it will continue to stabilize and grow its commercial aircraft operations, improve production, and reduce system risks such as those associated with the 737 Max program. He also said that winning the F-47 award will secure the company’s fighter franchise program for decades to come.

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