Business
Boeing stems cash burn for first time since 2023 but takes $4.9 billion charge on 777X delays
A Boeing 777x is displayed during the International Paris Air Show at the Paris-Le Bourget Airport on June 20, 2023.
Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt | AFP | Getty Images
Boeing said Wednesday its jetliner deliveries drove it back into cash-positive territory for the first time in nearly two years, but it took a $4.9 billion charge on additional delays of its long-awaited 777X wide-body plane.
Boeing is on track to deliver the most aircraft this year since 2018, before two crashes grounded its bestselling jetliner, the Covid pandemic hit supply chains and a host of manufacturing crises drove years of losses at the top U.S. exporter.every
CEO Kelly Ortberg, an aerospace veteran who came out of retirement to helm Boeing in August 2024, has worked to steady the manufacturer’s sprawling supply chain and cash-generating production lines.
The 777X, an updated version of its 777 plane, took its first flight nearly six years ago but still hasn’t won regulator approval. Boeing said it now expects the first delivery in 2027, leading to the noncash charge.
Boeing CFO Jay Malave told analysts that questioned why the charge on the program was so high that slower production rates and holding onto planes longer for rework added to costs.
“The team is just not going to sit here and take this lightly and hasn’t taken it lightly,” Malave said. “They are focused — we are all focused on doing everything we can to improve the long-term productivity on this program, while also working to mitigate the total delay impact to our customers the best we can.”
Boeing stock fell 4% on Wednesday, though it is still up more than 20% so far this year.
A Boeing 777x aircraft during an aerial display on the opening day of the Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, UK, on Monday, July 18, 2022.
Jason Alden | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“While there’s still more work to do to advance our development programs, particularly on our commercial development and certification programs, we’re seeing positive signs across our business, and I’m proud of how we are coming together to turn our company around,” Ortberg said in a staff note.
Still, Boeing generated free cash flow of $238 million, its first time in the black on that metric since late 2023.
The company lost $4.78 billion, or $7.14 a share, in the three months ended Sept. 30. That’s better than a $5.76 billion loss a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company reported a loss of $7.47 a share. Revenue jumped 30% to $23.27 billion for the third quarter, up from $17.84 billion a year ago and ahead of analysts’ estimates.
A year ago, Boeing machinists were on strike in a contract impasse that crippled production at the majority of the company’s commercial airplane factories.
Here’s how Boeing performed for the third quarter compared with analysts’ estimates compiled by LSEG:
- Loss per share: $7.47 per share adjusted vs. a loss of $4.59 expected
- Revenue: $23.27 billion vs. $21.97 billion expected
Airline customers have said they’ve seen an improvement at Boeing, with more accurate delivery projections, a change in tune from the complaints of prior years.
In the first nine months of the year, Boeing delivered 440 airplanes, up from 291 in the same period last year. Airlines and other customers pay for the bulk of the planes when they receive them, so increasing the delivery pace is key for Boeing to stem an outflow of cash totaling close to $17 billion since the start of 2024 through June of this year.
Last year was supposed to be a turnaround year for Boeing, but a midair blowout of a door panel in January 2024 resulted in a near catastrophe and increased federal scrutiny that slowed production.
But Boeing has made progress. Earlier this month, the Federal Aviation Administration lifted a production cap for Boeing’s 737 Max to 42 a month from 38, a restriction it put in place after the accident. Ortberg said the company will increase production beyond that level when it has FAA approval.
The FAA is also now allowing Boeing to perform final sign-offs on some of its aircraft, a sign of increased confidence from its regulator.
Boeing’s commercial unit revenue rose 49% from a year earlier to $11.09 billion, though it still had negative operating margins. Its defense unit generated $6.9 billion, up 25% from last year in the third quarter, with a 1.7% operating margin, while its profitable global services business brought in nearly $5.4 billion, a 10% increase.
The company isn’t out of the woods. Its Max 7 and Max 10 variants and the 777X are years behind schedule.
“Pencils are down from a design perspective” on an anti-icing system for the two Max variants, the largest and smallest of the family, Ortberg told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Wednesday. “We know what hardware and software changes are needed to the airplane.”
He said Boeing is now working through certification with the FAA.
Additionally, about 3,200 of its defense unit workers who make F-15 fighter jets and missile systems have been on strike since the summer as the two sides have yet to reach a new contract.
Business
MLB faces a historic shift as potential lockout, media rights and other league changes loom
Thursday’s Opening Day may be the calm before the storm for Major League Baseball.
The league’s collective bargaining agreement with its players expires at the end of this season. Owners, with the commissioner’s backing, are almost sure to push for a salary cap (which would likely come with a salary floor to get players to the negotiating table).
MLB owners have never been able to get a cap passed by the players union. It’s unclear if the end of the 2026 season will lead to a different result, but MLB Players Association Interim Executive Director Bruce Meyer told ESPN last month he expects a lockout is “all but guaranteed.”
In addition to the CBA’s expiration, there are major shifts underway for baseball media rights. One-third of the league’s teams didn’t have local TV deals in place for this season until this week.
Nine MLB teams – the Washington Nationals, Seattle Mariners, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, and Detroit Tigers – announced Wednesday their brand new MLB-operated team channels will be carried by DirecTV.
Most of those teams had previously been part of Main Street Sports (previously Diamond Sports Group), which operates FanDuel Sports Networks (previously Bally Sports). That entity has been teetering with liquidation, and the teams terminated their contracts with the company due to missed payments earlier this year.
A 10th team, the Atlanta Braves, is launching a new network called BravesVision. The Braves and Charter’s Spectrum announced a multiyear distribution agreement earlier this week.
MLB ideally wants the rights to all 30 teams in its control by the end of the 2028 season so that it can sell the in-market local games as a national package to a streamer. That would become the modern replacement to regional sports networks, and it would likely be a new, coveted package for streaming services such as ESPN and Amazon Prime Video.
Also at the end of the 2028 season, MLB’s national media rights for all of its packages will expire, allowing the league to redistribute games to its partners and potentially select new ones.
NBC, ESPN, Fox and a combined CBS/Turner have dominated national rights for the past few decades.
“The key in media negotiations now is having all of your rights available,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told me last year. “If you have all of your content – all of your playoffs, all of your regular season – available, there will be buyers, and I’m confident there will be buyers at a higher price for us.”
Manfred has even floated the idea of expanding to 32 teams and realigning the league geographically, upending or even eliminating the American and National leagues that have existed for more than 100 years.
Soaring TV ratings
It’s, of course, unclear how much of this hypothetical change will actually come to fruition.
But the potential for transformation at MLB is greater than at any of the other Big 4 professional leagues in the U.S.
And yet, baseball isn’t struggling — on the contrary. The implementation of the pitch clock in 2023 has led to shorter games, rising attendance and higher TV ratings.
Rob Manfred, Commissioner of the MLB, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, U.S., on July 9, 2025.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
More than 50 million people in the U.S., Canada and Japan watched Game Seven of the World Series last year – the most-watched baseball game in 34 years. MLB recently wrapped up the World Baseball Classic – a global preseason tournament – which captured nearly 11 million viewers on Fox and Fox Deportes for its final game.
MLB team valuations rose 13% from last year. The average MLB team is now worth $2.95 billion, according to CNBC Sport data.
Still, the profitability of the league is in far worse shape than it is for the NFL, NBA and NHL, according to CNBC’s calculations. In 2025, MLB’s 30 teams had an EBITDA — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — margin of under 2%. Team average revenue was $426 million with average EBITDA of $7 million, including non-MLB ballpark events. In contrast, the comparable margin for the NFL was 20%; the NBA, 21% and the NHL, 22%, according to CNBC’s most recent valuations.
The new CBA at the end of this season could be the first significant step toward a very different MLB. But, similar to the WNBA, which announced its new CBA earlier this week, MLB must ensure negotiations to get a new labor agreement don’t jeopardize a wave of positive momentum.
Business
JLR temporarily halts production at Solihull plant
A JLR spokesperson said: “Due to a part supply challenge with a supplier, we are temporarily pausing production on certain vehicle lines at our Solihull manufacturing facility. We are working closely with that supplier to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and minimise any impact on our clients or our operations.”
Business
WTO reform push: India flags dysfunctional dispute system at MC14, seeks review of e-commerce duty moratorium – The Times of India
India on Thursday urged members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to restore a fully functional dispute settlement system, saying the current mechanism has deprived countries of effective redressal, PTI reported.Speaking on the opening day of the WTO’s 14th ministerial conference (MC14) in Yaounde, Cameroon, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal stressed the need to revive the automatic and binding nature of dispute resolution within the global trade body.“A dysfunctional Dispute Settlement System has deprived Members from effective redressal. We must restore the automatic and binding dispute settlement system,” he said.The WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism has faced prolonged disruption since 2009 after the US blocked appointments to the Appellate Body.Goyal also called for a reassessment of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, which WTO members have periodically extended since 1998. India has repeatedly raised concerns over the potential revenue implications of the arrangement.“In the absence of a common understanding among Members on the scope of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions and given its potentially significant implications, the continued extension of this moratorium warrants careful reconsideration,” he said.The four-day MC14 is scheduled to conclude on March 29.On broader WTO reforms, Goyal emphasised that any restructuring should be transparent, inclusive and member-driven, with development concerns at the centre. He underlined that core principles such as non-discrimination, consensus-based decision-making and equity must be upheld. The minister added that the principle of special and differential treatment (S&DT) should be made precise, effective and operational.On agriculture negotiations, he said a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security purposes, the special safeguard mechanism and cotton are long-pending mandated issues that member countries “must deliver on them on priority”.“India remains committed to negotiating a comprehensive Fisheries Subsidies Agreement that balances current and future fishing needs, protects the livelihoods of poor fishers, with appropriate and effective S&DT,” Goyal said.He also stated that incorporating plurilateral outcomes into the WTO framework should be based on consensus and should not undermine the rights of non-participants or impose additional obligations on them.“We will engage constructively to show that WTO remains central to global trade and strive to Reform it to remain responsive, Perform in delivering on development, equity, and inclusiveness, and Transform to better serve the interests of the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized people, anchored in consensus and multilateralism,” he said.Other WTO members also highlighted the need for reforms. According to a statement from US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the organisation has struggled to address systemic issues such as persistent trade imbalances, structural excess capacity, economic security and supply chain resilience.“As ministers, our focus should be on reforms that would make the WTO more responsive to Members and improve our ability to achieve outcomes that optimize our trading relationships,” Greer said, adding that countries should consider making the e-commerce duty moratorium permanent.Separately, a ministerial statement by the G-33 grouping of developing countries reiterated that public stockholding for food security remains a crucial policy tool for developing and least developed nations.“We urge all WTO Members to work together in reaching a permanent solution on this issue as per the Ministerial mandates,” the statement said.China also called for restoring a fully functioning dispute settlement mechanism at the earliest to strengthen the WTO’s role in global economic governance. The UK said it wanted to “improve accountability by reinstating a functioning dispute settlement system”.EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic warned that inaction could weaken the rules-based trading system. “Maintaining the status quo is not an option — we cannot go on as we are. If we do, we risk erosion of the rules-based system and the WTO sliding into irrelevance. Therefore, I strongly believe we must act urgently to reform the WTO,” he said
-
Fashion1 week agoSales at US apparel, clothing accessories stores up 4% YoY in Jan 2026
-
Tech1 week agoJustice Department Says Anthropic Can’t Be Trusted With Warfighting Systems
-
Fashion1 week agoSpain’s Inditex FY25 sales rise 3.2% to $46.28 bn amid strong demand
-
Politics1 week agoIran strikes Tel Aviv with cluster-warhead missiles in retaliation of Larijani’s martyrdom
-
Sports1 week agoMarch Madness 2026 – How to watch in SA, start time, schedule, TV channel for NCAA championship basketball tournament
-
Entertainment1 week agoWith few new leads 45 days after Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance, investigation “becomes much harder,” expert says
-
Entertainment1 week agoVal Kilmer revived 1 year after death through AI
-
Business1 week agoBrits cashing in jewellery as gold price hits record high
