Boeing said Wednesday that it lost $1.2 billion in the first quarter as it and took large write-downs and lost money in both its civilian-airplane and defense businesses.
The loss was bigger than Wall Street had forecast, and the company's quarterly revenue also fell short of expectations. Boeing burned through $3.2 billion in cash.
“Messier quarter than any of us would have liked," CEO David Calhoun acknowledged on CNBC.
Shares of Boeing Co., based in Chicago, fell 10% shortly after the opening bell Wednesday.
Boeing offered some optimism for improvement, however, saying that it has submitted plans to resume deliveries of its 787 airliner and it increased production and deliveries of the 737 Max passenger jet during the quarter.
Calhoun said the company was on track to generate positive cash flow over the entire year "despite the pressures on our defense and commercial development programs.”
The quarterly report brought disappointing news for Boeing shareholders on several fronts.
The company again pushed back the expected first delivery of a new version of its long-range, twin-aisle 777 passenger jet by at least a year until 2025. The move was widely expected, as Boeing adapts to certification standards that have been tightened since regulators approved the Max, then were forced to ground the planes after two deadly crashes.
The delay in expected approval for the 777-9 caused Boeing to forecast $1.5 billion in “abnormal” production costs.
Boeing took a $660 million charge for its program to build new presidential Air Force One jets, which it blamed on higher supplier costs, final technical requirements and schedule delays. It also took $367 million in charges on a military training jet.
Boeing said it submitted plans to the Federal Aviation Administration to resume deliveries of the 787 passenger jet. Those deliveries have been halted for more than a year by production issues that Boeing previously said would add about $2 billion in costs, of which $312 million was recorded in the first quarter.
Airlines are expecting a boom summer, with travelers returning in huge numbers after two years of pandemic. But some of them, like American, have trimmed summer schedules because they haven't received the Boeing 787s that they ordered years ago.
“They have a busy summer schedule. We have already disappointed them with respect to the capacity on that summer schedule," Calhoun said. Just when Boeing will be cleared to resume deliveries of 787s is up to the FAA, but Calhoun said “We will be back in the air sooner rather than later.”
Boeing expects to boost production of the 737 Max to 31 planes a month in the current quarter, which runs through June. That plane was grounded worldwide for nearly two years after two deadly crashes.
And Boeing took $212 million in pretax charges related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The company did not immediately explain the write-down.
In a memo to employees, Calhoun said Boeing is taking steps to improve long-term performance.
“We are a long-cycle business, and the success of our efforts will be measured over years and decades, not quarters,” he said.
Boeing's commercial-airplanes division lost $859 billion, hobbled by the inability to deliver 787 jets while Boeing tries to fix production flaws on the twin-aisle plane.
The defense business, long a bulwark against volatility in aircraft sales to airlines, lost $929 million as revenue fell 24%.
The company reported a loss attributable to shareholders of $1.22 billion, compared with a loss of $537 million a year earlier. The “core” loss was $2.75 a share on revenue of $13.99 billion. Analysts expected a loss of 25 cents per share on revenue of $16.02 billion, according to a FactSet survey.
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
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President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
