There had to be a breaking point. There had to be a point at which airlines who had orders with aerospace company Boeing (BA) simply gave up and looked for another option, whatever that may have been. New reports noted that Qatar Airways may have found that breaking point. Boeing shareholders, though, took the news well, sending shares up over 2.5% in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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Qatar Airways had an order for 25 Boeing 737 Max 10s, noted a report in Simple Flying, but may be stepping away from that order. The report noted that the 737 Max 10 “…no longer meets the requirements of its route network.” Given that the 737 Max 10 is “years behind schedule,” saying that the plane just does not work for the airline any longer makes a certain kind of sense.
Between the trouble that the Federal Aviation Administration has given Boeing and the problems that the Boeing plane has had with its anti-icing systems, the end result has been a plane that was supposed to come out in “late 2025,” but now “…will most likely occur much later in the decade.” In fact, other airlines have already pulled Max 10 orders and instead gone with the Max 8, so the damage to Boeing here will likely be minimal.
It’s Not Wise to Annoy a President
Meanwhile, Boeing’s endless delays are prompting more trouble at the government level, this time all the way up to the incoming President, Donald Trump. Back in 2018, a Jalopnik report noted, Trump ordered new Air Force One planes from Boeing, a pair of 747s. But thanks to the panoply of delays, Boeing is now going into its sixth year with that order, and apparently, it will take longer to get the planes together than Trump has in his new administration.
The new planes will not be ready until 2029, at least, a development that has to be galling. And even as Boeing flubs a presidential order, it also brought a fresh round of layoffs to South Carolina, noted the Post & Courier. Indeed, another 67 jobs will be cut throughout South Carolina.
Is Boeing a Good Stock to Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 12 Buys, seven Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 33.13% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $189.41 per share implies 9.43% upside potential.
