The Boeing Company (BA)
Boeing is a global aerospace giant that designs and builds commercial aeroplanes, defence systems, and space technology for customers around the world.
Is The Boeing Company a good stock for a UK beginner?
The honest version: There's no rating here and nothing for sale. In its favour: Dominant position in a global duopoly. Worth weighing: Very thin profit margins currently.
Is this normal for this company?
Each figure against the range this same company has produced recently. Neither end of a range is the good end.
Share price divided by the earnings actually reported over the four most recent quarters. The range is the same calculation at each of this company's last few results, so roughly the past year.
Profit as a share of sales, from the company's own quarterly statements. The range covers the 5 quarters we hold, and the figure shown is its most recent one.
How these ranges are built
Every number here is the company's own reported figure, not a comparison with other companies. The ranges come from this company's own results and its share price. Where it reports in a different currency from the one its shares trade in, the price-to-earnings range is left out rather than mixing the two.
What does The Boeing Company do?
Boeing makes its money by selling and servicing massive passenger jets for airlines and advanced equipment for military and space agencies. It is one of only two major players in the global commercial aircraft market, which gives it a very stable long-term position. Keep an eye on how effectively they manage their complex manufacturing processes and safety standards to keep planes rolling off the production line.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on momentum and growth, and weakest on income.
- !Pays no dividend - the whole return rides on the share price
- ✓Growing - revenue up about 8% over the year
- !Thin profits - turns only about 3% of sales into profit
- !High P/E of 84 - big growth is already priced in
- !Carries a lot of debt - roughly 7.9x its equity
- ✓Strong return on shareholder money (ROE 174%)
- —
- Value screens low
- Quality screens low
- Income screens low
Does The Boeing Company pay a dividend?
No - The Boeing Company doesn't currently pay a dividend, so the whole return would rest on the share price. Plenty of growing companies reinvest their profits instead of paying them out - neither approach is better or worse, they're just different.
Most recent ex-dividend date: 13 Feb 2020. To receive a dividend you must already own the shares before the ex-dividend date; become a holder on or after it and the previous owner keeps that payment. Why the price usually falls that morning →
Does The Boeing Company have more cash or more debt?
It holds about $19.30B in cash against about $48.36B of debt - so it has net debt of about $29.07B. Debt is not automatically a problem - it funds growth - but it has to be serviced and repaid, which matters more when profits wobble.
From the latest reported balance sheet. Cash and debt levels change, and some borrowing is normal - this is context, not a judgment.
What do The Boeing Company's numbers mean?
How has it performed?
Growth of £1,000, the worst fall, and year by year
Over about 2 years to 2026-09-11. This is the share price only; any dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.
How much has The Boeing Company actually fallen?
Over the last 2 years of daily prices, The Boeing Company fell as much as −27% from a high to a later low. Falls like this are normal when you own a share.
Past falls are not a forecast - it can fall further, or recover.
How has it done year by year?
Calendar-year total return - the share price with dividends reinvested - from adjusted closing prices. The current year is only part-complete. Past returns are not a guide to the future.
A closer look at the numbers
Ownership, earnings history, where the money goes, and the outlook range
Does the share price tell you if it's cheap or expensive?
Who owns The Boeing Company?
About 75% of The Boeing Company, or about 75 in every 100 shares, is held by big institutions such as pension and index funds. The rest, roughly 24%, is held by the public and smaller investors.
What this does and doesn't tell you
This is a recent snapshot of the share register, and it moves. We don't read anything into who owns what - a high institutional share is common for any large listed company and is not a signal about it.
Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.
Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.
How much money does The Boeing Company make?
Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.
Where does each £100 of The Boeing Company's sales go?
A rough split of the latest full-year figures: of every £100 of sales, about £95 covers making the product or service, £2 goes on running costs, tax and interest, and about £3 is left as profit. Margins vary a lot by industry, and one-off items can distort a single year.
When does The Boeing Company report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?
The Boeing Company is next scheduled to report on about 2026-10-28 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.
‘Beat’ and ‘missed’ are against what analysts expected, not whether the business is doing well.
| Reported | Expected EPS: The earnings per share analysts expected for the quarter - the average of their forecasts. 'Beating' or 'missing' is measured against this number. | Actual EPS | vs expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-28 | $-0.31 | $-0.76 | Missed -141% |
| 2026-04-22 | $-0.67 | $-0.20 | Beat +70% |
| 2026-01-27 | $-0.41 | $9.92 | Beat +2525% |
| 2025-10-29 | $-2.38 | $-7.47 | Missed -214% |
| 2025-07-29 | $-1.27 | $-1.24 | Beat +2% |
| 2025-04-23 | $-1.30 | $-0.49 | Beat +62% |
Across the last 6 quarters here, The Boeing Company came in ahead of what analysts expected 4 times. One quarter is noise, not a trend.
See who else reports over the next two weeks →
Where these figures come from
Each quarter a company reports its results against a consensus of analyst forecasts. The figures here are reported versus expected earnings per share from published results; the expectation is that analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates and can move.
What are the scenarios for The Boeing Company?
An illustrative range for the year ahead — not a prediction or a price target.
What are the pros, cons and common questions?
The case each way, and the questions people ask
Full return to historical profit levels
Loss of market share to competitors
What are the pros and cons of The Boeing Company?
A balance check, not a score or verdict.
- Dominant position in a global duopoly
- Massive backlog of orders for new aircraft
- Essential role in national defence and space exploration
- Very thin profit margins currently
- High debt levels from previous years
- No dividend payments for shareholders
- Intense scrutiny over manufacturing quality and safety
- Vulnerability to global economic downturns affecting travel
- Supply chain bottlenecks slowing down production
The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.
- A major shift in the competitive landscape of aircraft manufacturing
- Significant changes to global aviation safety regulations
Common questions about The Boeing Company
Does The Boeing Company pay a dividend?
No - The Boeing Company does not currently pay a dividend, so the return would rest on the share price. Many growing companies reinvest profits instead of paying them out.
When does The Boeing Company report earnings next?
The Boeing Company is next scheduled to report results on about 2026-10-28. Report dates are estimates and can move; this is a diary note for when to look, not a forecast of the outcome.
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Rolls-Royce HoldingsBuilt from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →
This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-02 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.