Boeing Q2 2021 Earnings Report Recap

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Boeing (BA) Financial Results: Analysis

The Boeing Company (BA) reported Q2 FY 2021 earnings that beat analyst expectations. The company surprised analysts' expectations by reporting its first positive adjusted earnings per share (EPS) since Q3 FY 2019. Analysts had been expecting an adjusted loss per share of $0.79. Revenue also surpassed analyst estimates, rising 44.0% year over year. Boeing delivered 79 commercial airplanes during the quarter, below what analysts had forecast. The company's shares jumped more than 3% in pre-market trading. Over the past year, Boeing's shares have provided a total return of 30.6%, below the S&P 500's total return of 35.9%.

BA Commercial Airplane Deliveries

Boeing nearly quadrupled its commercial airplane deliveries compared to the year-ago quarter. Deliveries got hammered last year amid the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Boeing manufactures both commercial and military aircraft. Demand for the former type is much more sensitive to economic conditions, whereas demand for the latter depends on government policy decisions regarding military programs. Commercial airplane deliveries have begun to rise amid rising travel demand as the threat from the pandemic has eased in the U.S. The company said that its commercial airplanes backlog grew to $285 billion and that it added 180 net orders.

"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," said Boeing President and CEO David Calhoun in the earnings press release.

But Boeing has faced ongoing challenges with two of its aircraft: the 737 MAX and the 787 Dreamliner. After the 737 MAX gained approval to return to service in November 2020 after being grounded for nearly two years for its involvement in two fatal crashes, more than 100 737 MAX jets were grounded again in early April due to electrical issues. They were subsequently approved to return to service in May. Earlier this month, Boeing said it would have to slow production of its Dreamliner aircrafts due to a newly discovered defect that could take several weeks to address.

In the company's earnings press release, it said that it had delivered more than 130 737 MAX aircraft since gaining approval for return to service in November of last year. Boeing is currently producing about 16 737s per month and plans to gradually increase that number to 31 per month in early 2022. The company is conducting inspections and rework on undelivered 787s. It is also in talks with the Federal Aviation Authority concerning a verification methodology for the 787 jets. Due to the inspections and rework, Boeing said that its 787 production rate would be temporarily lower than five per month but that it will gradually return to that rate.

Boeing's next earnings report (for Q3 FY 2021) is estimated to be released on Oct. 26, 2021.