Aerospace company Boeing (BA) is calling for a “culture change” in its operations, according to a report from The New York Times. Something certainly needs to happen as Boeing shares are down 40% this year.
Boeing’s latest earnings report did not fare well, but then, not much has gone well for Boeing in the last few months. Boeing revealed a massive $6.2 billion loss for the quarter ended September 30. The poor results led new CEO Kelly Ortberg to call for a “culture change” at Boeing.
Ortberg ran down a list of the company’s failures: too much debt, too much trust lost, and too many mistakes. Ortberg called for senior management to be “closely integrated with our business,” and be “…on the factory floor, in the back shops, and in our engineering labs.”
Bleeding Out at Boeing
Additionally, the news is not good for Boeing’s near-term future. A Quartz report detailed that Boeing “…will keep bleeding cash through all of next year.” The latest report projects that Boeing will not see free cash flow return to positive territory until 2026.
Despite the dire prediction, Boeing chief financial officer (CFO) Brian West says cash flow should start looking up in the second half of 2025 as Boeing “…return(s) to more stable production rates.” With several issues hopefully resolved soon, from a government-imposed production cap to an ongoing strike, perhaps next year will be better at Boeing?
Is Boeing a Good Stock to Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 14 Buys, five Holds and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 13.29% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $197.83 per share implies 26.15% upside potential.
