Boeing: 2024 Earnings-another bad, bad year

By Karl Sinclair

Jan. 28, 2025, © Leeham News: The Boeing Company (BA) reported its full-year 2024 fiscal results today and it went pretty much as expected: it was another bad, bad year.

The full press release is here.

Boeing had a tumultuous 12 months:

 

  • A door-plug departed a brand new Alaska Airlines 737-9 MAX aircraft shortly after takeoff in January;
  • Its commercial crew spacecraft stranded astronauts at the ISS in June;
  • The company was forced to an agreement to purchase a major supplier (Spirit Aerosystems) in July;
  • A CEO change happened in August;
  • The 777X flight testing program ground to a halt due to broken thrust links (also in August);
  • A 53-day union strike hit the PNW in September;
  • An equity sale to raise cash occurred in October; and finally,
  • The 2024 financial year-end was put out of its misery with this filing.

Financial Summary:
  • Operating cash flow for the year was ($12.080bn) and free cash flow (FCF) was ($14.31bn).
  • Company revenues were down to $66.5bn from $77.8bn in 2023, a drop of $11.3bn.
  • Losses skyrocketed to ($11.875bn) from ($2.222bn), year-over-year.
Segment results
  • Boeing Commercial Aircraft (BCA) losses deepened and hit ($7.969bn) for the year.
  • Defense and Space (BDS) fared no better as the red ink flowed to the tune of ($5.413bn).
  • 4Q2024 losses were ($2.090bn) and ($2.267bn), respectively.

The only bright spot was Boeing Global Services (BGS), which again provided strong results, with full-year revenues of $19.954bn (2023: $19.127bn), earnings of $3.618bn ($3.329bn) and a margin of 18.1% (17.4%).

Company-wide, Boeing lost ($10.7bn) from operations and had a loss per share of ($18.36).

A full analysis of results will be released following the scheduled earnings call.

21 Comments on “Boeing: 2024 Earnings-another bad, bad year

  1. Bombardier were in a similar situation 10 years ago. After restructuring and getting rid of important divisions they could no longer manage profitably they are now doing well as a business aircraft manufacturer. I think Boeing should do the same and return to its core business as a commercial aircraft manufacturer.

    • For BCA I agree.

      The Defense side has some major good spots and those that are not should be made to perform if managed right.

      Dump the non core bossiness regardless of which side of the house they are in.

  2. Sad for those working hard doing their jobs.

    IMO a result of strategic decisions 15 years ago, to maximize free cash flow and short term benefits, by reducing medium/ long term investment, sqeeze the supply chain, overpromise the market, lobby congress to side line FAA etc.

    Now the chickens come home to roost & those responsible (and cheered on by the public..) are having quality time with their families.

    I see alternatives to a significant government intervention declining. Trump is a capitalist but also a nationalist..

    • I am willing to bet if I put down exactly what Trump is, I would be given the old heave ho forever.

      You should not tempt me like that!

  3. You are forgetting the $20B they raised a few months ago – no intervention needed. They also invested more in new Product in the last 15 years than anyone else. Given all their challenges getting that product portfolio right – doing more would have been even a worse decision.

    • This is very misleading. Coupled with the egregious amount of share buybacks completed by the company since 2010 (the time period you mention), the spending on R&D went dis-proportionally towards derivative products or on “development” initiatives to fix current products. The quality of the spending matters a lot for long-term competitiveness and the current balance with Airbus and Boeing’s own outlook show the strategy has not worked and needs to change quickly.

    • Morrisond, Boeing gambled by pushing out a 737, 757, 767, 777 replacement and convincing stakeholders, congress and everyone upgrading this was really the best and only logical way moving forward.

      But it wasn’t. It was PR, cost control, free cash flow consumption and perception management. Those who noticed were ignored/ ridiculed / embedded.

      The airlines had a good look & judged with their wallets. Now Boeing has debts while investments are overdue.

      Strong believers, supporters, investors are still dealing with the accepting they’ve being taken for a ride, powered by old fashioned capitalism.

      https://bhr.stern.nyu.edu/quick-take/boeings-decline-traced-to-decades-of-catering-to-shareholders-above-all-others/

    • @Morrisond
      There is a lot of context and nuance to the the fall of Boeing. Yes they spent a lot, but yes they have very little to show for it. Max 8/9 is all. And that failure is largely a result of trying to cut corners and failing at it.

      Covid hurt…but that hurt everyone.

      Three major factors…Max crashes and the blowout of Alaska and stock buybacks. This is a company that forgot it was in the business of designing and making aircraft.

      Yes Boeing raised $24B. That just proves there were enough people dumb enough to invest in Boeing. That is a harsh statement but one grounded in the reality of the last several years. Any recovery is based not on demonstrated results but a plan. I do not know if Ortberg is the answer (I am not blown away so far), but his honeymoon ends with these Q4 results. No more excuses after today.

      • @Casey:

        I don’t think there is anything nuanced about Boeing failures. Share buy backs and dividends so that the uppers get MAX benefits.

        When I was working, my favorite coined phrase was Teamwork, hooray for me and the heck with you.

        Nothing more complicated than that. Liquidating the company to the benefit of the Uppers and who as long as you can get out of Dodge before the tidal wave of failure, go for it.

        @Morrisond:

        The management was out to sink the company and they almost succeeded. It was deliberte. The only investment was in their golden parachutes

    • I think the “investment” aspect is minor.
      IMU: investment expects value add ( better product, new product, or both 🙂
      Most of extra money spent went into fixing unnecessary errors.
      MCAS, shimming, outsourcing, …

  4. Oops.

    Ortberg said he is not considering moving Boeing headquarters back to Seattle.

  5. Regarding cash flow…a few notes…report say $24B not $25B raised. Look like a reduction of $3.8B in net debt.

    Will have more granularity once the 10Q is available.

    • What I can find:

      Op cash flow $- 3,450 m
      PPE – 648 m

      FCF – 4,098 m
      Debt repayment – 3,500 m
      Total – 7,598 m

      But the SEC filing would cover for the full year.

  6. Looks like they need a shape up in engineering, production, finance, program mgmnt. Normally defense programs are succesful with profit margins in low double digit numbers at worse. Just look at GE Aerospace results defence approx 10-12% profit and steadily growing. Even P&W managed a 8% profit margin after putting 100’s of A320neo AOG.

  7. Scott,

    Any insight at what rates BCA’s production at y.e. were? Does the level of inventory ($85,550 m) look high?

  8. The Seattle Times:

    > Though Boeing started the fourth quarter with $10.5 billion in cash and then raised $24 billion through sales of shares and convertible debt, by the end of the year it was left with $26.3 billion — making clear that without the capital raise Boeing would have all but run out of cash.

    > Nick Cunningham, an industry analyst with London-based Agency Partners, told investors that Tuesday’s public release was an opportunity for Ortberg “to start the process of laying out a route map to recovery and to tell the world what a recovered Boeing might look like.
    “But the depth of the problems revealed over recent quarters and scale of the challenge is such that it is probably too early to do that,” he added. “Management may need to remain in firefighting mode for some time yet.”

    https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/boeing-ceo-ortberg-looks-forward-after-heavy-losses-and-cash-drain/

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