Boeing Narrows Q3 Loss to $116 Million, Still Targets First 777X Delivery in 2027

ARLINGTON, Virginia, United States, 27 October 2026 – Boeing reported a third-quarter net loss of $116 million on Tuesday, a fraction of the $5.3 billion it lost in the same quarter of 2025, and said it still expects to hand over the first 777X in 2027. Revenue rose 4% to $24.2 billion, according to the company’s results release.

Most of the growth came from defense and services. Commercial Airplanes, the unit that builds airliners, saw revenue fall 3% to $10.7 billion and posted an operating loss of $697 million. Boeing put that down to a less favorable delivery mix, higher projected costs linked to future production rate changes and higher supply chain costs. The year-earlier loss was driven by a 777X program charge.

The numbers

• Loss per share: $0.26, or $0.34 on Boeing’s adjusted “core” measure, which is not a standard accounting figure
• Cash: operating cash flow of $1.5 billion and free cash flow of $464 million; $20.7 billion in cash and investments against $45.9 billion of debt
• Orders: 300 net commercial orders, including from Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and Lufthansa
• Backlog: a record $745 billion company-wide, including more than 6,300 commercial jets worth $612 billion

Chief executive Kelly Ortberg pointed to the certification of the 737-7 and 737-10 and the US Navy’s choice of Boeing for its F/A-XX fighter, then added in the release: “But we are not done.”

Deliveries and production

Boeing delivered 161 commercial jets, one more than a year earlier, and 475 in the first nine months, up from 440. On the earnings call, Ortberg said 737 production was still working toward a stable 47 a month and that it would take into next year to get there fully. Boeing’s financial plan targets 52 a month in the second half of 2027.

The 787 is stable at eight a month, and Boeing still expects to start moving to ten a month before the end of 2026, Ortberg said. He added that 787 deliveries have been uneven from month to month because of seat certification problems.

777X and the newly certified 737s

Boeing says 777-9 certification flight testing continues and first delivery remains on track for 2027. On the call, Ortberg said the company still needs approval to begin the rest of the flight test program, including ETOPS testing, which covers long flights over water far from a diversion airport. Chief financial officer Jay Malave said Boeing’s cash targets assume certification by the middle of 2027, and that 777X production is running at about one a month.

The 737-7 was certified in July and the larger 737-10 last week. Malave said Boeing has already built 737-7 and 737-10 jets that will start delivering early next year. For passengers, that means airlines that ordered the MAX 10, including United, Delta, Alaska and Ryanair, could start receiving them early in 2027 if Boeing keeps to that plan.

Market reaction and outlook

Boeing shares closed down 10.7% on Tuesday, the worst performer in the Dow, AFP reported via France 24. The fall deepened after Ortberg set out a free cash flow path of about $2 billion in 2026, $3 billion in 2027, $6 billion in 2028 and $10 billion in 2029. “It’s more important that we do this ramp right than what particular month we achieve a rate break,” he said on the call.

Analyst Richard Aboulafia of AeroDynamic Advisory told AFP that Boeing is making “slow but steady” progress, adding that the supply chain remains a major concern only partly within Boeing’s control. For background on the 777X’s long road, see our Boeing 777-9 review.

Read more

• Boeing 777-9 review: the 777X and why it is late
• FAA certifies the Boeing 737 MAX 10
• Airbus A350-1000 vs Boeing 777-9
• Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner review

Sources: Boeing third-quarter results release, 27 October 2026; Boeing Q3 2026 earnings call transcript (The Motley Fool), 27 October 2026; AFP via France 24, 27 October 2026.

Featured image: FlyingFuel graphic using a photo of Boeing 777-9 aircraft stored in primer at Paine Field, Everett by Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.