The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) saw its stock soar in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) today after it raised its profit forecast for the year and blew away analysts’ expectations for the third quarter that ended in September. The world’s largest maker of jet-powered aircraft reported earnings of $1.80 a share for the quarter besting the average of $1.52 per share in the 19 estimates that Bloomberg compiled in the buildup to the earnings announcement.
The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) is now calling for earnings of $6.50 to $6.65 excluding some pension expenses for the year. This guidance adjustment saw the plane maker close at $129.02 up $6.54 or 5.34% as the company sped up its jetliner deliveries for the quarter.
To combat falling military sales, including a recent defeat to supply South Korea with a new fleet of fighter jets, The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) made an unexpected transition to nothing shy of its bread and butter.
“We expected very strong results, and that’s what they delivered,” Peter Arment, a New York-based analyst for Sterne Agee & Leach Inc., said in a telephone interview.
After The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA)’s gains on Wednesday, the company has not only rallied but is in possession of a rally (year-to-date) that extends over 60%. That number is three times what the S&P 500 hundred has done while placing it on the top to the Dow Jones’ 30 over the same time period.
The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) has truly surprised critics and analysts alike when it comes to profit margins.
“When you’re delivering this amount of aircraft from very mature programs such as 737 and 777, you’re having tremendous efficiencies and cost absorption,” said Stern Agee’s M. Arment. “That’s allowing them to deliver very strong margins.”
“Our future more lies in our ability to grow ourselves than anything else,” said Chief Executive Officer James McNerney.
Boeing isn’t afraid of going smaller in its orders while building upgrades to its existing planes that maximize seating.
Without the suggestion that we know where Boeing is headed, how do you bet against a company that builds airplanes that suffer aborted flights and electrical fires? These are not rare occurrences. Rather, they are a testament to a company that turns lemons into airplanes that fly without crashing.
