Boeing reported a net loss of just $7 million in the first quarter of 2026, a dramatic improvement from the $31 million loss it posted in the same period a year earlier. Revenue climbed 14% to $22.2 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of $21.78 billion. On an adjusted basis, the company posted a loss of 20 cents per share, well below the 83-cent loss Wall Street had forecast.
For a company that has spent the better part of three years absorbing the financial and reputational fallout from a string of safety and manufacturing failures, the numbers represented something it has not had much of lately: good news.
The 737 Max is back in focus
At the center of Boeing’s recovery story is the 737 Max, the narrow-body workhorse that accounts for a significant portion of the company’s commercial backlog. The company is currently producing 42 planes per month and plans to increase that figure to 47 this summer, pending Federal Aviation Administration approval.
That regulatory sign-off is not a formality. Following the near-catastrophic fuselage door plug blowout in January 2024, the FAA placed strict conditions on any production increases. Boeing must demonstrate sustained manufacturing quality before it can expand output, and the company appears to be building that case.
Certification of the 737 Max 7 and Max 10 models, the smallest and largest variants in the Max family, is expected before the end of the year. Both are long-delayed, and their approval would open up customer deliveries scheduled to begin in 2027.
Ortberg’s steady hand
CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took over in August 2024, has been methodical in his approach to a company that badly needed stability. He inherited years of accumulated damage and has spent his first several months working through it without generating the kind of turbulence that defined the previous leadership era.
He told employees in an internal note this week that the team had worked through challenges while staying on plan, and that the results reflected what the company could accomplish when it operated as a unit. He also told CNBC that customer feedback on aircraft quality had been strong, and that order momentum had not slowed despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Strong orders, record backlog
Boeing’s total order backlog reached a record $695 billion at the end of the first quarter. Commercial jets alone accounted for more than 6,100 aircraft valued at $576 billion. The company booked 140 net commercial orders during the quarter, including 30 787-10s for Delta Air Lines, 25 737-10s and 25 737-8s for Aviation Capital Group, and 20 737-8s for Air India.
Those numbers suggest that airlines, despite the turbulence of the past few years, are still betting on Boeing for their long-term fleet plans.
The other businesses
Boeing’s defense, space, and security segment posted revenue of $7.6 billion, up 21% from a year ago, and swung to an operating profit of $233 million. The global services division brought in $5.4 billion in revenue with $971 million in operating income, though its margin dipped slightly to 18.1% from 18.6%, partly because the prior-year period included gains from the sale of its Digital Aviation Solutions unit.
Commercial aircraft deliveries totaled 143 planes in the quarter, a 10% increase from the same period in 2025. The segment generated $9.2 billion in revenue, though it still recorded an operating loss of $563 million.
Cash and debt
Operating cash flow was negative $179 million, a substantial improvement from negative $1.6 billion in the first quarter of 2025. Free cash flow came in at negative $1.5 billion, with most of the capital spending directed toward expanding 787 production in Charleston, South Carolina, and military aircraft operations near St. Louis. Cash and investments fell to $20.9 billion from $29.4 billion at the start of the quarter, largely because of debt repayments. Total consolidated debt declined to $47.2 billion from $54.1 billion.
The 777X program also advanced during the quarter. The FAA approved the start of a new certification flight testing phase, with first delivery of the 777-9 expected in 2027.
Boeing is not out of the woods. But for the first time in a long while, the trajectory is pointing somewhere other than down.
