The CEO of Boeing, Kelly Ortberg, has said the planemaker is moving in the right direction after its net loss for the first quarter improved to $31 billion against $355 billion over the same period last year.
There has been a sense that Boeing has recently turned a corner buoyed by 130 aircraft deliveries between January and March 2025, though there are new concerns over President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
News that two Boeing 737 aircraft heading to Chinese customers had been returned after China paused deliveries of Boeing jets in a retaliatory step over US tariffs has caused apprehension in recent days.
Ortberg appeared to acknowledge the difficulties on April 23, 2025, while commenting on the company’s latest financial results.
“We continue to execute our plan, are seeing early positive results and remain committed to making the fundamental changes needed to fully recover the company’s performance while navigating the current environment,” Ortberg said.
Revenues increased in the first quarter of 2025 by 18% to $19.5 billion compared to $16 billion last year, thanks to the increase from 83 deliveries over the same period in 2024.
“Our company is moving in the right direction as we start to see improved operational performance across our businesses from our ongoing focus on safety and quality,” said Ortberg.
Announcing its results, Boeing reaffirmed that its delivery target of 38 aircraft deliveries was expected to be achieved this year.
Boeing faced one of its most challenging periods last year after a door plug separated from an Alaska Airline 737 MAX 9 shortly after takeoff on January 5, 2024.
The incident led to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) capping production of 737 MAX aircraft at 38 a month resulting in a sharp decline in aircraft deliveries in 2024.
On April 23, 2025, CNBC reported that Boeing is preparing to seek approval from the FAA to increase 737 MAX production to 42 jets a month.
Boeing also announced that the 787 Dreamliner program continued to stabilize production at five per month in the quarter and still expects to increase to seven per month this year.
The 777X program also began expanded FAA certification flight testing in the quarter, and Boeing still anticipates the first delivery of the 777-9 in 2026.
Significantly, Boeing’s cash flow reduced to $1.6 billion from $3.3 billion in the first quarter of 2024.
Shares in Boeing jumped 5% following the publication of its latest financial results.
