Manufacturing · Profile from Manufacturing Research Companion: Companies, Strategic Moves, and Technical Studies
Boeing
The largest US exporter of manufactured goods by its own long-standing claim (verify), one half of the large-jet duopoly with Airbus, and the clearest modern case of a manufacturer that let process capability run down while it optimised for financial returns — then spent 2019–26 paying for it. Boeing delivered 600 commercial jets in 2025 (the most since 2018) on revenue of $89.5bn and returned to a net profit of $2.2bn, but only because of a $9.6bn gain on selling its Digital Aviation Solutions business; free cash flow was still −$1.9bn (company, FY2025 release, 27 Jan 2026). Its story runs from the 1997 McDonnell Douglas merger and the 2001 move to Chicago, through the 787's global outsourcing (2004–11), the sale of Wichita (2005), the decision to re-engine the 737 rather than design a new aircraft (2011), two 737 MAX crashes and a 20-month grounding (2018–20), the Alaska Airlines door plug (5 Jan 2024), an FAA production cap and a seven-week strike, to Kelly Ortberg's rebuild: buying back Spirit AeroSystems (closed 8 Dec 2025), the FAA allowing 42 a month (Oct 2025) and a 47-a-month 737 line in 2026. The book's lesson: in a duopoly, the licence to operate depends on quality, and a regulator can set your production rate.
At a glance
- Founded
- 1916 in Seattle by William E. Boeing (from memory, verify)
- Headquarters
- Arlington, Virginia (moved from Chicago in 2022 — from memory, verify; the FY2025 release is datelined Arlington, Va.); Chicago from 2001 to 2022; Seattle before 2001. Commercial Airplanes (BCA) is run from the Seattle area
- Ownership / structure
- Public (NYSE: BA). Three segments: Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security (BDS); Global Services (BGS). Spirit AeroSystems' Boeing-related operations were folded in on 8 Dec 2025; Spirit Defense is a non-integrated BDS subsidiary; part of Belfast is a Boeing subsidiary branded Short Brothers (Shared facts)
- Leadership (2026)
- Kelly Ortberg, President and CEO from Aug 2024 (reported; formerly CEO of Rockwell Collins); Stephanie Pope, CEO of Commercial Airplanes (from memory, verify)
- Main plants
- Renton, Washington (737 final assembly); Everett, Washington (767, 777, 777X); North Charleston, South Carolina (787 — final assembly consolidated there in 2021, from memory, verify); Wichita, Kansas (737 fuselage and other structures, ex-Spirit, from Dec 2025); St. Louis and others for defence
- Scale
- FY2025: revenue $89.463bn (+34% from $66.517bn), net earnings $2.238bn (vs a $11.829bn loss in 2024), operating cash flow $1.065bn, free cash flow −$1.877bn (vs −$14.310bn), 600 commercial deliveries, total backlog $682bn incl. >6,100 commercial aircraft worth ~$567bn (company release, 27 Jan 2026). Q3 2026: revenue ~$24.2bn, 161 commercial deliveries, free cash flow ~$464m, net loss $116m (vs $5.34bn a year earlier), total backlog a record $745bn incl. >6,300 commercial aircraft worth ~$612bn (8-K, 27 Oct 2026, reported)
- Production rates
- 737: capped at 38 a month after 5 Jan 2024; 42 allowed Oct 2025; 47 reached in Q2 2026 (10-Q framing), stable 47 slipped to early 2027; 52 planned H2 2027. 787: stable at 8 a month; next increase from Dec 2026 (Shared facts)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- McDonnell Douglas merger (1997); HQ to Chicago (2001); 787 global outsourcing and deferred costs (2004–11); Wichita sale to Onex (2005); the 737 MAX instead of a new airplane (2011); the MAX crashes and grounding (2018–20); the 2021 deferred-prosecution agreement and its 6 Nov 2025 end; the door plug, FAA cap and IAM strike (2024); Ortberg's rebuild, Spirit reintegration and the 47-a-month ramp (2024–26)
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1997
McDonnell Douglas Merger and Culture Shift
Acquisition or merger — all-stock combination with McDonnell Douglas Corporation (St. Louis)
2001
Headquarters Move to Chicago
Strategy pivot — corporate headquarters separated from the main factories
2004
787 Global Outsourcing and Deferred Costs
Make-vs-buy — a new aircraft designed and built largely by risk-sharing partners, with Boeing as systems integrator (failure in execution; the product succeeded)
2005
Wichita Sale to Onex
Divestment — sale of a build-to-print aerostructures operation to private equity, with a long-term supply agreement back to Boeing
2011
737 MAX Instead of a New Airplane
Product launch — re-engining the 1960s-origin 737 with CFM LEAP-1B engines rather than launching a clean-sheet single-aisle (failure in design and certification)
2019
737 MAX Crashes and Grounding
Quality failure and safety incident — two fatal accidents, a worldwide grounding, a production pause and a recertification
2021
Deferred Prosecution Agreement and 2025 Dismissal
Regulatory or legal action — criminal charge resolved by a deferred-prosecution agreement (DPA), a breach finding, a rejected plea deal and a dismissal under a non-prosecution agreement (NPA)
2024
Door Plug FAA Cap and IAM Strike
Quality failure and safety incident, followed by a regulator-imposed production cap and a strike (failure)
2025
Ortberg Rebuild Spirit Reintegration and 47 a Month
Make-vs-buy (reacquiring the main fuselage supplier) combined with a production-system recovery and portfolio sales