Boeing’s stock (NYSE: BA) is back in the spotlight as of December 6, 2025, with three big storylines converging:
a near‑term Spirit AeroSystems acquisition, a promised return to positive free cash flow in 2026, and a wall of new defense and commercial orders that is reshaping the outlook for BA stock.
BA stock today: price, range and recent performance
As of the latest trade, Boeing shares are around $201.89, with intraday trading between roughly $200.77 and $202.94.
Market data from recent filings and coverage show:
- 52‑week range: about $128.88 – $242.69 – BA is trading well above its lows but still meaningfully below the top of its range. [1]
- Market capitalization: ~$153 billion and a negative P/E on trailing earnings, reflecting ongoing losses as turnaround spending and program charges continue. [2]
- Volatility and outperformance: Over the past month, BA is up about 2.1%, beating the Zacks Aerospace‑Defense industry, which fell roughly 3.3% over the same period. [3]
So BA is not in “bargain basement” territory, but the stock is still trading at a discount to its recent highs, with investors trying to decide whether the current recovery narrative is for real or just another fake‑out.
The Spirit AeroSystems deal: supply chain control and antitrust strings
The headline news today, December 6, 2025, is the Spirit AeroSystems acquisition inching toward closing.
A New York Stock Exchange notice indicates Boeing’s planned acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems could close as early as Monday, with trading in Spirit (SPR) expected to be suspended on December 8. The notice stresses that the deal is still conditional and could slip if closing conditions aren’t met. [4]
This follows a major ruling earlier this week:
- The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cleared Boeing’s $4.7 billion acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems, but only on the condition that Spirit divest several key assets—most importantly units that supply Airbus and other defense players. [5]
- The total transaction, including Airbus taking over some Spirit facilities and other pieces, is valued at roughly $8.3 billion. [6]
- Boeing is reacquiring the bulk of Spirit, particularly the 737 fuselage operations, while Airbus takes control of facilities in North Carolina and Belfast. [7]
From a BA stock perspective, the Spirit deal matters because:
- Supply‑chain control: Spirit has been at the center of multiple quality and delay issues on Boeing programs. Bringing it back in‑house is meant to reduce integration friction and quality surprises.
- Regulatory overhead: The FTC order adds long‑term monitoring and requires Spirit to keep supplying future competitors in defense. That blunts some of Boeing’s competitive advantage.
- Execution risk: Integration of a financially stressed, operationally troubled supplier while ramping production is… ambitious. The market initially knocked BA shares about 3% on the FTC news as investors digested the extra complexity. [8]
If the NYSE notice is right and the transaction closes within days, Spirit integration and regulatory oversight will become a central theme for BA’s 2026–2027 performance.
Cash‑flow comeback: CFO promises positive 2026 and beyond
The other big catalyst this week has been Boeing’s cash‑flow guidance.
At the UBS Global Industrials and Transportation Conference on December 2, CFO Jay Malave laid out a much more optimistic view of cash generation:
- Boeing expects negative free cash flow of roughly $2 billion in 2025, but
- aims for “low single‑digit billions” of positive free cash flow in 2026, its first full‑year positive cash flow since 2023. [9]
- The CFO reiterated management’s longer‑term ambition to eventually reach around $10 billion in annual free cash flow, though without a firm date. [10]
Markets loved it. Malave’s comments and the associated production outlook sent BA stock up around 8–10% in a single session earlier this week, making it the best performer in the S&P 500 that day. [11]
Importantly, rating agencies are cautiously on board:
- S&P Global Ratings recently revised Boeing’s outlook from Negative to Stable, signaling reduced near‑term default risk.
- However, S&P now estimates 2026 free operating cash flow of about $3 billion, at least $2 billion lower than its previous forecast—reflecting persistent execution and cost risks. [12]
So the cash‑flow story is “getting better” rather than “fixed”. BA is still in turnaround mode, not in a steady‑state cash machine phase.
Production ramp: 737 MAX, 787, and a very patient 777X
Behind that cash‑flow story is a big ramp‑up in aircraft deliveries, especially for the 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner.
Malave and recent industry coverage paint this picture:
- 737 MAX production cap lifted: After the FAA capped MAX output at 38 aircraft per month following the January 2024 door‑plug incident, the agency in October 2025 allowed Boeing to raise the rate to 42 per month, with the increase expected to show up in deliveries starting early 2026. [13]
- Delivery mix shift: Around 50 of Boeing’s 2025 737 deliveries are expected to come from stored inventory. In 2026, management expects most deliveries to come from current production, which is healthier and more predictable for cash flow. [14]
- 737 MAX delivery targets: Boeing is eyeing 440–450 MAX deliveries in 2025, and wants to move toward a potential production rate of 53 MAX jets per month by the end of 2026, assuming the supply chain cooperates. [15]
- 787 Dreamliner: The 787 line is targeting an increase from 7 to 8 aircraft per month in 2026, again with the usual caveat that it takes months for rate increases to translate into deliveries. [16]
- 777X: The long‑delayed 777X widebody remains on a slow path, with first deliveries now not expected until 2027, following new certification requirements and years of program turbulence. [17]
On top of that, Boeing is already running hard in 2025:
- In October 2025, Boeing delivered 53 jets, bringing year‑to‑date deliveries to 493 aircraft and putting the company on track for its highest annual delivery total since 2018—though still behind Airbus, which had delivered 585 jets by that point. [18]
The production ramp is central to the bull case for BA stock. It is also exactly where things could go wrong if supply‑chain or quality problems resurface.
Orders, backlog and defense: the demand side of the story
On the demand side, Boeing continues to add serious weight to its backlog across both commercial and defense:
Big new defense contract: Apache helicopters for Poland
On November 26, 2025, Boeing announced a Foreign Military Sales contract under which it will produce 96 AH‑64E Apache attack helicopters for Poland, as part of a nearly $4.7 billion multinational deal. [19]
- Deliveries are expected to begin in 2028.
- Poland will become the largest Apache operator outside the United States and the 19th global Apache customer. [20]
This follows a separate U.S. Air Force Lot 12 contract for 15 additional KC‑46A Pegasus tankers, valued at about $2.47 billion, helping expand the global KC‑46A fleet to 183 aircraft on order. [21]
Commercial orders and airline deals
Recent months have also brought a flurry of commercial wins:
- flydubai signed an MoU for 75 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, with options for 75 more, cementing the MAX as the backbone of its expanding fleet. [22]
- Uzbekistan Airways converted options into a firm order for eight 787‑9 Dreamliners on November 6, bringing its total 787 order book to 22 jets. [23]
- Boeing has secured deals across Central Asia for up to 37 jets, strengthening U.S. trade ties and adding to future aircraft deliveries. [24]
According to Zacks, Boeing booked 161 net commercial airplane orders in Q3 2025, while its Defense, Space & Security backlog climbed to $76 billion after roughly $9 billion in new contracts in that quarter alone. [25]
In other words: demand is not the problem. Execution is.
Governance and board refresh: Tilden joins
On December 3, 2025, Boeing added Bradley D. Tilden, former chairman, president and CEO of Alaska Air Group, to its Board of Directors, where he will sit on the Aerospace Safety and Finance committees. [26]
Tilden is the 10th new director since 2019, part of a multi‑year board refresh aimed at bringing more airline, safety, and financial expertise into the room after Boeing’s multi‑year crisis. [27]
For BA stock, this doesn’t move the numbers tomorrow, but investors do tend to care about whether the board looks capable of overseeing a high‑risk industrial transformation. Bringing in a long‑time airline CEO with deep experience in safety management and capital allocation is broadly seen as a positive signal.
Q3 2025 recap: strong revenue, brutal 777X charge
Underneath all this are still‑ugly financials.
Recent coverage of Boeing’s Q3 2025 results highlights:
- Revenue of about $23.27 billion, up roughly 30% year‑on‑year, driven by higher aircraft deliveries and defense growth. [28]
- A reported GAAP loss of around –$7.47 per share, far worse than the consensus expectation of about –$0.51, mainly due to a multi‑billion‑dollar charge on the 777X program. [29]
Analysts expect Boeing to remain loss‑making for the full year 2025, with MarketBeat summarizing consensus EPS of about –2.58 for the current year. [30]
Forward‑looking estimates suggest a sharp improvement:
- StockAnalysis aggregates forecasts calling for revenue to rise from ~$66.5 billion in 2024 to ~$90.7 billion in 2025 (≈36% growth) and ~$100 billion in 2026, as deliveries ramp. [31]
- EPS is projected to improve from around –18.36 in 2024 to –9.67 in 2025, then swing to +2.15 in 2026, implying a return to profitability if everything goes roughly to plan. [32]
Rating agencies and analysts agree on the direction of travel (up), but not on how bumpy the road will be.
What Wall Street is saying about BA stock
Analyst views as of December 6, 2025 are leaning bullish, but far from unanimous.
Consensus ratings and price targets
Different aggregators tell broadly similar, but not identical, stories:
- MarketBeat:
- Consensus rating: “Moderate Buy” based on 27 analysts.
- Mix: 3 strong buys, 15 buys, 4 holds, 5 sells.
- Average 12‑month price target: $232.09, about 15% upside from roughly $202. [33]
- StockAnalysis.com:
- Based on 18 analysts, consensus rating: “Strong Buy”.
- Average price target: $239.56, implying ~18.7% upside from recent prices, with a range from $140 (very bearish) to $282 (very bullish). [34]
- TipRanks:
- Aggregates recent calls to a “Strong Buy” consensus, with 13 Buys, 2 Holds and 1 Sell over the past three months.
- Reports an average price target of about $249.07, implying ~23% upside after a ~28% rally in the past year. [35]
Even within that bullish tilt, there’s tension:
- Bernstein’s Douglas Harned reiterates an Outperform rating and a $267 target, arguing that investors are overreacting to 777X delays and near‑term spending—he sees the 737/787 ramp and the 2026 cash‑flow guidance as confirming a credible turnaround path. [36]
- BNP Paribas, by contrast, has initiated coverage with an Underperform rating and a $150 price target, implying downside from current levels. [37]
Zacks: cautiously constructive
Zacks currently assigns Boeing a Rank #3 (Hold):
- They highlight BA’s solid backlog, strong defense wins, and growing commercial demand, including the Apache deal for Poland, the KC‑46A tanker order and the flydubai MAX MoU. [38]
- But they also flag negative return on invested capital (ROIC) and persistent supply‑chain bottlenecks, and note that Boeing trades at a discounted forward price‑to‑sales of about 1.63x vs. an industry average around 2.41x, reflecting both opportunity and risk. [39]
In short: the Street mostly believes Boeing is on the mend—but with enough scars that some big houses still say “underperform”.
Institutional flows: Amundi and others add to BA
Institutional positioning is another piece of the puzzle.
A fresh December 6, 2025 filing analysis from MarketBeat reports that Amundi boosted its Boeing stake by about 75.5% in Q2, to 1.78 million shares worth roughly $376.7 million, raising institutional ownership to about 64.8%. [40]
Other large investors—including Vanguard, Bessemer, Prudential and Kingstone Capital—also added to positions in recent quarters, according to the same report. [41]
Higher institutional ownership isn’t automatically bullish, but it does suggest that many professional investors are willing to live with Boeing’s turbulence in exchange for the potential upside of a successful multi‑year recovery.
Key risks investors keep circling back to
None of this is risk‑free, and the bear case for BA hasn’t disappeared. The main ongoing concerns:
- Execution and quality risk
Boeing is being watched very closely by regulators. The FAA continues to emphasize oversight of Boeing’s quality systems, using tools like on‑site inspectors and potential third‑party reviews. [42]
Any new high‑profile defect or safety issue—especially on the MAX or 787—could slow or reverse the production ramp that underpins the 2026 cash‑flow goals. - Program risk on 737‑10 and 777X
- Debt and leverage
Boeing still carries a heavy debt load from the MAX crisis and the pandemic years. S&P’s lowered free‑cash‑flow forecast for 2026 (even while upgrading the outlook to Stable) underscores that deleveraging will be slower than previously hoped. [45] - Spirit integration risk
If the Spirit AeroSystems deal closes in the coming days, Boeing will inherit the challenge of fixing a major supplier while integrating it under regulatory supervision and at the same time trying to raise production rates. The upside is big; the potential for operational headaches is also big.
Bottom line: BA stock on December 6, 2025
As of December 6, 2025, the BA stock thesis looks something like this:
- Near term (2025–2026):
- Still loss‑making on GAAP earnings.
- Aiming to flip from roughly –$2 billion free cash flow this year to positive low‑single‑digit billions in 2026, powered by higher 737 and 787 deliveries. [46]
- Integrating Spirit AeroSystems and absorbing the complexity of antitrust‑driven divestitures.
- Medium term (through 2028):
- Targeting roughly $100 billion in annual revenue by 2026, with a transition to positive EPS as deliveries normalize and widebody programs like the 777X finally enter service. [47]
- Leveraging large commercial and defense backlogs (Apaches, KC‑46A, MAX, 787) to support steady cash generation.
- Market view right now:
- Most analyst aggregators cluster BA around “Moderate Buy” to “Strong Buy”, with average 12‑month price targets in the $230–$250 range—roughly 15–23% implied upside from current prices. [48]
- But there remains a meaningful minority of skeptics with sell/underperform ratings and targets as low as $140, who doubt Boeing can cleanly execute such a complex rebuild.
For investors and traders, BA right now is a classic high‑execution‑risk turnaround: the backlog is real, the demand is real, the cash‑flow path is becoming clearer, and yet the margin for operational error remains thin.
References
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