Boeing Reports 1st Annual Profit Since 2018 on Asset Sale

Boeing reported its first annual profit since 2018 Tuesday on gains from an asset sale, as it eyes increased plane production while pointing to progress emerging from a lengthy slump.

Full-year 2025 profits were $1.9 billion, Boeing reported, compared with a loss of $11.9 billion in 2024.

Boeing has faced heavy regulatory scrutiny following fatal 2018 and 2019 crashes that led to a lengthy grounding of the 737 MAX and intensified scrutiny of its commercial aviation program that has limited output.

While Boeing last year delivered the highest number of planes since 2018, the driving factor behind both quarterly and annual profit was completion of a $10.6 billion sale of aviation software assets including Jeppesen to Thoma Bravo.

Boeing won approvals in 2025 from the US Federal Aviation Administration to lift production on both the MAX and its other top-selling plane, the 787 Dreamliner.

The company expects further production increases on both programs in 2026.

"As we work together to continue our turnaround, we're making good progress and there's a lot to be optimistic about as we start the year," CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a letter to employees.

Ortberg, in an interview with CNBC, said Boeing expects free cash flow of between $1 billion and $3 billion in 2026.

Wall Street has been monitoring Boeing's progress on the benchmark after it previously targeted $10 billion in free cash flow as a medium-term objective.

"We're marching to this $10 billion free cash flow number and it's going to take us a little bit of time, but we've got a methodical plan to get there," Ortberg told CNBC.

- Defense hit -

In terms of Tuesday's results, Boeing reported a quarterly profit of $8.1 billion, compared with a loss of $3.9 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Revenues for the quarter were $23.9 billion, up 57 percent from the year-ago period on near tripling of airplane deliveries.

Boeing has been in a downturn since the MAX crashes, which together claimed 346 lives. The company appeared to turn a corner under prior company leadership, hosting an investor day in November 2022 after the MAX was returned to service.

But Boeing was soon plunged back into crisis mode following a January 2024 Alaska Airlines flight in which a window panel blew out mid-flight, necessitating an emergency landing.

Ortberg joined as CEO a few months later, working closely with FAA regulators on a series of performance indicators linked to production increases.

In 2025, Boeing won approval to raise output on the MAX to 42 per month and the 787 to eight per month. The company is eyeing production increases in 2026 of 47 MAX planes monthly and 10 per month for the 787.

Boeing also pointed to progress in the certification process with US regulators for the 737-10 aircraft.

On the downside, Boeing's defense business accounted for a $0.6 billion hit in the KC-46 military refueling aircraft "driven by higher estimated production support and supply chain costs," the company said.

Shares fell 2.8 percent in morning trading. – AFP/RSS