Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) told investors on October 27 that it will miss its 737 production and delivery targets for 2026 [1]. The company had planned to build 47 of its best-selling jets a month by this summer. That pace now arrives in early 2027, so the goal of handing over about 500 737s this year is out of reach.
Wing production is a major bottleneck, alongside constraints in fuselage production, preventing Boeing from raising assembly rates as quickly as planned. CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company will stay disciplined rather than rush, a deliberate break from the years when pushing output too hard led to quality failures.
Shares fell 10.7% on October 27, their worst single-day decline in years.
#Why Investors Care About Cash, Not Planes
Each delivered jet brings in the bulk of its price, so deliveries drive Boeing's cash flow. Fewer jets this year means less cash next year, and that is where the outlook really disappointed.
Boeing now expects about $3 billion of free cash flow in 2027, against analyst hopes near $5.5 billion. For 2028 it sees $6 billion, well short of the $9.6 billion Wall Street had modeled [2]. Its $10 billion target has slipped a year to 2029.
The quarter itself was mixed. Boeing posted an adjusted loss of 34 cents a share, worse than the 21 cent loss analysts expected. The commercial jet unit lost $697 million on revenue of $10.7 billion, though that is a huge improvement on a year ago. Defense and services were the bright spots, and Boeing generated $464 million of free cash flow in the quarter.
It delivered 161 commercial jets in the quarter, including 124 737s, taking its 737 total to 367 for the first nine months [3]. Reaching 500 would have needed roughly 133 more in the final quarter, a pace the factory has not yet shown it can sustain.
#Real Wins Overshadowed by Delay
The setback hides genuine progress. Regulators certified the long-delayed 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10, Boeing was selected by the US Navy to design and build its next-generation F/A-XX fighter, although the award remains subject to completion of the review process. Net debt has fallen to $25.2 billion from $30.4 billion a year earlier.
Demand is not the problem either. Airlines want new, fuel-efficient jets, and Boeing has only one serious rival in Airbus.
But the market is losing patience. A company still carrying heavy debt cannot afford to keep pushing cash further into the future, and every delay makes that debt harder to shrink. Boeing still plans to reach 52 jets a month in the second half of 2027, which will be the next big test of whether this delay is a stumble or a pattern.
Watch the monthly delivery reports and any update on wing output. If Boeing can show a steady 47 a month early next year, the cash story starts to repair itself. If not, the 2027 targets may slip again.