Boeing Co. reported a wider than expected first-quarter loss on Wednesday, although revenue met Wall Street forecasts as the company generated cash by delivering more new airliners than it did a year ago.
Boeing lost $561 million — or $537 million after accounting for a loss attributable to a noncontrolling interest — as the coronavirus pandemic continued to hurt demand for new planes.
After the quarter ended, Boeing suffered a new setback with its 737 Max jetliners, more than 100 of which are now parked again because of issues around electrical grounding of some parts.
CEO David Calhoun said the pandemic continues to challenge the market for planes but said the company sees 2021 as a turning point, with distribution of vaccines against COVID-19 picking up. He said Boeing's defense and space business is providing stability for the company.
Excluding one-time items such as a charge related to a building the next Air Force One presidential jets, Boeing's loss was $1.53 per share. Analysts expected a loss of 97 cents per share, according to a FactSet survey.
The loss was smaller than the $628 million loss Boeing reported a year earlier, when the pandemic was just starting to hit the airline industry. In the first quarter of pre-pandemic 2019, the company earned $2.15 billion on revenue of $22.92 billion.
Revenue fell 10% from a year earlier, to $15.22 billion, nearly matching the $15.23 billion that analysts expected. Boeing generated cash when regulators in the U.S. and other countries allowed the company to resume deliveries of 737 Max jets, which were grounded for nearly two years after two crashes that killed 346 people.
Boeing delivered 77 commercial planes in the quarter, up from 50 in the same period last year, although revenue from those sales dropped.
The company's defense and space business accounted for nearly half of Boeing revenue, and it earned a profit as revenue climbed 19%.
Wednesday’s report lacked the big unpleasant surprises Boeing has sometimes dropped on investors, including three months ago, when it announced another delay in its newest plane, the 777X. The resumption of 737 Max deliveries has helped Boeing’s cash flow, but the pandemic is still depressing orders for new planes.
Last week, as the company met online with shareholders, it announced that the board raised CEO Calhoun’s retirement age from 65 to 70, meaning he won’t be forced to step down next April. At the same time, Boeing said Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith, 54, will retire in July, a move that caught Wall Street off-guard. Analysts speculated that Smith saw his path to the top job closed off by Calhoun’s extended term.
The shares dipped 1% in trading before the market opened Wednesday.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
