Boeing reports Tuesday, and cash is the number that matters

Haverhill Financial Research · News · Earnings · October 26, 2026

Boeing reports third-quarter results on Tuesday, October 27, with a conference call at 10:30am Eastern. It is the first time in several years that the company arrives at a results day with momentum rather than an explanation, and the most useful thing to watch is not profit. It is cash.

In the second quarter Boeing delivered 171 commercial aircraft, up 14%, and revenue rose 8% to $24.56 billion. The company still lost money — $0.67 a share on a reported basis — but operating earnings turned positive at $156 million against a $176 million loss a year earlier. Free cash flow was $631 million, against an outflow of $200 million in the same quarter of 2025.

The backlog is the part that is genuinely remarkable: $715.3 billion at the end of June, a record, with more than 6,200 aircraft in the commercial order book alone. Boeing's problem has not been demand for a long time. It has been the ability to build.

An aircraft manufacturer gets paid in large instalments tied to delivery. That makes quarterly cash flow lumpy by nature, and Boeing's chart above shows it: a $1.45 billion outflow in the first quarter of 2026, then $631 million in the second. The first quarter is seasonally the weakest, so the swing is not as alarming as it looks. What matters is whether the full year is positive for the first time since the 737 MAX grounding era — and that is decided in the second half.

The production rate sits underneath all of it. The 737 programme began moving to 47 aircraft a month during the second quarter, and low-rate initial production started on the 737 North Line in July. Each step up in rate converts backlog into deliveries and deliveries into cash.

Three things. First, whether free cash flow stays positive and what management says about the full year. Second, any update on moving the 737 beyond 47 a month and on the 787, where the constraint has been engines and seat certification rather than Boeing's own factories. Third, the defence unit, which took $280 million of losses on the presidential aircraft programme in the second quarter and has been the most reliable source of unpleasant surprises.

The 737 MAX 7 was certified in early August, with the MAX 10 expected to follow and first deliveries of both in 2027. Those aircraft matter for the order book, though management has been clear that early margins on them will be thin for years.

Figures come from Boeing's own results releases: the second-quarter 2026 release and the company's announcement of the third-quarter results date.

Disclosures. Haverhill Financial Research is a publisher of general financial commentary. This article is not personalized investment advice and does not consider any reader's financial situation; readers should do their own research. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Company figures and guidance can change. The author of this post does not hold a position in Boeing. Data as of October 26, 2026.