Boeing ( BA ) is on deck to report second quarter results on Wednesday before the bell, another crucial moment for the plane maker to show investors that the company is slowly getting back on track — or at least attempting to do so.
Following a high-profile door plug blowout in January that led to the grounding of its 737-MAX 9 fleet, Boeing has been hampered by increased scrutiny of the plane maker’s 737 production and safety processes , decreased overall plane production, and various whistleblower complaints documenting production issues with the MAX program and the 787 Dreamliner.
Last month, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, who will step down at the end of the year, was pilloried in testimony in front of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, during which senators took him to task over a string of recent safety lapses and alleged wrongdoing.
“You're getting paid a heck of a lot of money. It's unbelievable; if anybody's coming out of this deal good, it’s you. Why haven't you resigned?” Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) asked.
Calhoun responded, “I'm sticking this through. I am proud of having taken the job. I'm proud of our safety record, and I am proud of our Boeing people.”
“You're proud of this safety record? Wow,” Hawley retorted.
Boeing also pleaded guilty last week to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and agreed to pay at least $243.6 million after breaching a 2021 consent decree with the Department of Justice, with the government alleging Boeing continued risky procedures in plane construction and didn’t keep accurate records following the two 737 MAX crashes in 2019 and 2020.
Along the backdrop of heavy criticism and slowdown of its business, Boeing’s financial performance is expected to suffer. For Q2, Boeing is expected to report revenue of $17.46 billion per Bloomberg, a 3% drop from a year ago. Profitability will likely take a steep hit, with analysts expecting an adjusted loss per share of $1.82, resulting in an adjusted net income loss of $790.74 million, a loss over 90% greater than a year ago.
Boeing pulled its full-year outlook at the start of the year given the issues it was facing, most seriously at the time the Alaska Airlines door plug blowout in January. At a Wolfe Research conference in May, Boeing CFO Brian West said Boeing would burn more cash than the nearly $4 billion it did in Q1 , meaning the company could report an astounding $8 billion in negative free cash flow for the first half of the year. West will be under pressure to show Boeing's cash burn will decline as 2024 progresses.
Not surprisingly, Boeing’s commercial deliveries took a hit in the second quarter as well. Boeing delivered 92 commercial jets in Q2 , down from the 136 planes delivered year ago, or a 32% drop. The 737 Max program had 70 deliveries in Q2, down from the 103 delivered a year ago.
Before its recent issues, Boeing had monthly delivery target of 38 737 MAX jets, with a stretch goal of 50 planes per month. Investors will be looking for progress from Boeing and Calhoun that it is indeed able to expand production and deliveries despite FAA and regulator oversight. Increased deliveries will also help Boeing's aforementioned cash burn rate.
Boeing also delivered nine widebody Dreamliner jets in Q2, down from 20 a year ago. The Dreamliner jet has been the subject of a few whistleblower complaints in 2024 alone, highlighting more issues with Boeing’s production and assembly processes.
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance covering the auto industry. You can follow him on X and on Instagram .
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