What happened?
Shares of aerospace and defense company Boeing (NYSE:BA) fell 9.8% in the afternoon session after the company reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share that were below Wall Street expectations.
According to a company press release, Boeing reported third-quarter revenue of $24.19 billion, up 3.9% year on year, and a net loss of $116 million. The release also said revenue reflected higher defense and services volume alongside a less favorable commercial delivery mix, and diluted loss per share was 26 cents. Adjusted earnings per share was negative 34 cents, which was below analysts' consensus estimate of negative 20 cents per share.
Revenue was in line with Wall Street's estimate of $24.21 billion. Operating margin improved to 1.5% from negative 20.5% in the same quarter last year. Free cash flow was $464 million, equivalent to a 1.9% margin, and backlog rose 17.3% year on year to $745.4 billion.
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What is the market telling us
Boeing’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 7 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 11 months ago when the stock gained 8% on the news that the company's Chief Financial Officer, Jay Malave, said the planemaker expected 737 and 787 deliveries to increase in 2026. Speaking at a conference, the CFO stated that the company's recovery was "in full force." The anticipated rise in plane deliveries, along with improvements in its defense and space unit, were expected to be primary drivers for better margins in 2026. Boeing also projected it would achieve positive free cash flow in 2026, a significant turnaround from an expected $2 billion outflow in 2025. Adding to the positive news, the company received a nearly $4.7 billion contract from the U.S. Army to build 96 AH-64E Apache helicopters for Poland.
Boeing is down 25.3% since the beginning of the year, and at $170.17 per share, it is trading 32.5% below its 52-week high of $252.15 from January 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Boeing’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at only $823.64.
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