A Boeing 737 MAX 10 airliner.
Ellen Banner-Pool/Getty ImagesCommercial aerospace giant Boeing reported a surprise profit for the second quarter of 2021. Shares, for now, are moving higher.
Boeing (ticker: BA) reported a profit of 40 cents a share from $17 billion in sales. Wall Street was looking for an 83 cent loss from $16.6 billion in sales. Not a single analyst was predicting a quarterly profit, according to FactSet. It’s a stunning result. It’s Boeing’s first positive per-share earnings since the third quarter of 2019.
Shares are up 4.8% in early Wednesday trading, while the S&P 500 has dipped 0.1% and Dow Jones Industrial Average has declined 0.2%.
Baird analyst Peter Arment called it a “shocking beat” in a Wednesday report. For him, the report is good news for the stock and Arment believes investors will focus on the improving free cash flow outlook. Boeing burned through about $700 million in cash during the quarter, far less than the $2.8 billion Wall Street projected. What’s more, second-quarter cash burn was about $3 billion better than the first quarter of 2021.
Arment is a Boeing bull, rating shares Buy and a $306 target price.
Vertical Research Partners analyst Rob Stallard, however, isn’t as bullish. He rates share Hold and has a $242 price target for Boeing stock. Stallard called the quarter a “tactical victory for Boeing, but strategic challenges remain.” He pointed out in a Wednesday report that the commercial aircraft division is still losing money and Boeing has many decisions to make in the upcoming quarter. Boeing, for instance, needs to decide whether or not to develop a new single-aisle jet to compete with Airbus ‘s A220, replace the 737 MAX, or replace the 757 program. There are a few directions the company could go. A new plane could cost the company up to $15 billion over 10 years.
Despite the ongoing challenges, the quarter is a good result considering the problems Boeing has been dealing with including Covid-19, the 737 MAX grounding and recertification as well as 787 quality problems which have stopped deliveries of those jets.
“We continued to make important progress in the second quarter as we focus on driving stability across our operations and transforming our business for the future,” said CEO Dave Calhoun in the company’s news release. “While our commercial market environment is improving, we’re closely monitoring COVID-19 case rates, vaccine distribution and global trade as key indicators for our industry’s stability.”
Profit margins improved compared with the first quarter. In commercial aerospace, Boeing delivered 79 planes in the second quarter compared with 77 in the first quarter. Just two more. The operating loss, however, was cut from $856 million in the first quarter to $472 million in the second.
Defense division profit margins went to 13.9% from 5.6%. Service division margins went to 13.1% from 11.9%.
Boeing hosts a conference call at 10:30 a.m. eastern to discuss results. The pace of improvement will be a big top on investors’ and analysts’ minds.
Write to allen.root@dowjones.com
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