Boeing (BA) Stock Today: Spirit AeroSystems Ruling, Cash-Flow Pledge and Airbus Troubles Move the Share Price

Boeing Company (The) stock is back in the spotlight after a dramatic 10% surge on Tuesday and a fresh wave of regulatory and analyst headlines on December 3, 2025. Between a conditional green light for the Spirit AeroSystems takeover, upbeat cash‑flow guidance from the new CFO, and new problems at rival Airbus, investors are rapidly repricing Boeing’s long‑running turnaround story. ^[1]

Below is a detailed, Google‑News‑friendly rundown of today’s news, forecasts, and analysis impacting Boeing (BA) stock.

1. How Boeing Stock Is Trading on December 3, 2025

After soaring 10.15% on December 2 to a close of $205.38, Boeing shares are cooling off on Wednesday. ^[2]

Intraday quotes around early afternoon show BA trading near $200 per share, down roughly 2–3% on the day, but still up strongly week‑to‑date thanks to Tuesday’s rally. ^[3]

Key context for traders:

Short‑term move:
- Dec 1 close: about $186.5
- Dec 2 close: $205.38 (+10.15%)
- Dec 3: trading back toward ~$200 after regulatory headlines and profit‑taking. ^[4]
12‑month picture:
- 52‑week range roughly $128.88–$242.69. ^[5]
- BA is up solidly over the past year, but still well below its 52‑week high, reflecting ongoing execution and balance‑sheet concerns.
Valuation snapshot:
- Market cap around $150–160 billion. ^[6]
- Trailing earnings are negative (P/E about –15), so the stock continues to trade on future free‑cash‑flow expectations rather than traditional earnings metrics. ^[7]

In short, Boeing stock is behaving like a classic high‑beta recovery trade: sharp rallies on good news, equally quick pullbacks when new uncertainties appear.

2. Biggest Boeing News Today (December 3, 2025)

2.1 FTC Clears Spirit AeroSystems Deal – But Forces Divestitures

The most market‑moving headline today comes from Washington, not Seattle.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said it will allow Boeing’s $8.3 billion acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems to move forward, but only if Boeing divests significant Spirit assets that currently supply Airbus and some U.S. defense programs. ^[8]

Key points from the FTC’s proposed order:

Boeing must sell Spirit units that supply aerostructures to Airbus, to avoid giving Boeing too much control over its main rival’s supply chain. ^[9]
Spirit also has to continue supplying competitors in future U.S. military aircraft programs so Boeing can’t squeeze out rival defense contractors. ^[10]
There’s now a 30‑day public comment period, but the deal can close before that ends. The divestiture conditions would still apply. ^[11]
Boeing’s stock dipped about 3% intraday after the news as investors weighed extra complexity and potential value leakage from forced asset sales. ^[12]

Boeing welcomed the FTC approval, saying the Spirit acquisition will strengthen its ability to build “safe, high‑quality airplanes,” but the conditions mean the integration will be messier and slower than a clean, unconditional approval. ^[13]

2.2 CFO Jay Malave: From Cash Burn in 2025 to Positive in 2026

The fuel behind Tuesday’s 10% jump — and much of today’s commentary — is the new CFO Jay Malave’s presentation at the UBS Global Industrials and Transportation Conference on December 2. ^[14]

From multiple reports (Reuters, MarketWatch, Investors’ Business Daily, Leeham, and others), the core message is:

2025 free cash flow (FCF): Expected to be around –$2 billion, improved from a previously signaled ~–$2.5 billion, partly because a large Department of Justice payment has slipped into 2026. ^[15]
2026 FCF: Malave expects “low single‑digit billions” of positive free cash flow next year — the first positive FCF year since 2023. ^[16]
Long‑term goal: Boeing is reiterating its mid‑term target of about $10 billion in annual FCF, once production rates and the program mix normalize. ^[17]
Delivery outlook:
- 737 and 787 deliveries should grow in 2026, underpinned by improving production lines and gradually easing supply‑chain constraints. ^[18]
- Boeing is working its way back toward higher 737 MAX output and planning for 10 787s per month around 2026, up from current rates around 7–8 per month. ^[19]

Leeham News adds more nuance around Malave’s priorities:

Capital allocation hierarchy:
1. Pay down debt
2. Fund investments and production ramp‑ups
3. Only then return cash to shareholders (buybacks/dividends) ^[20]
Boeing aims to raise 787 output toward 14 aircraft per month over time; management believes the program isn’t truly profitable at lower single‑digit rates. ^[21]
The 777X remains a cash drag — roughly $2 billion of negative cash flow spread over coming years, with entry into service pushed back again, now targeted for 2027. ^[22]

Notably, there’s some confusion around the 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 certification timelines:

Reuters quotes Malave as expecting MAX 10 certification “later this year” (2025). ^[23]
Leeham and other industry sources suggest MAX 7 and MAX 10 certifications have effectively slipped into late 2026, with deliveries around 2027. ^[24]

For investors, the takeaway is that Boeing’s cash‑flow narrative is improving — but certification and program risk remain very real.

2.3 Airbus Troubles: An Opportunistic Tailwind for Boeing?

Boeing’s rally is happening just as Airbus faces its own string of headaches:

Airbus cut its 2025 delivery target from 820 to 790 aircraft after finding a fuselage panel flaw on several dozen A320‑family jets. The inspection and repair process can take 3–5 weeks per aircraft, temporarily limiting available capacity. ^[25]
That followed an unprecedented recall and software patch for around 6,000 A320 jets due to a rare glitch triggered by solar/cosmic radiation, which earlier caused flight delays and a share sell‑off. ^[26]

Despite lowering the jet delivery target, Airbus kept its 2025 financial goals intact — about €7 billion in adjusted operating profit and €4.5 billion in free cash flow — and its stock actually rose 3–4% today as investors had already priced in many of the issues. ^[27]

For Boeing shareholders, Airbus’s problems matter for two reasons:

They ease competitive pressure in the near term, especially in the narrow‑body market where Airbus’s A321neo has dominated.
They strengthen the antitrust rationale behind the FTC forcing Spirit divestitures, since regulators are laser‑focused on keeping Airbus from becoming dependent on a Boeing‑controlled supplier. ^[28]

2.4 November Production: Better, But Not “Fixed”

Fresh data from Forecast International/Flight Plan provides a snapshot of how far Boeing still has to go operationally: ^[29]

November 2025 production:
- Airbus: 91 planes produced
- Boeing: 45 planes produced
Estimated November deliveries:
- Boeing: 44 jet deliveries, including 32 737 MAX, one 737‑800, and 11 wide‑bodies (mostly 787s plus some 777/767 freighters). ^[30]
737 MAX production: about 32 aircraft, below Boeing’s newly approved rate of 42 per month and well below the long‑term goal of 52 per month. ^[31]
787 production:8 Dreamliners produced, roughly in line with management’s near‑term target and underpinning Malave’s confidence in 787 cash‑flow contributions. ^[32]

Investor’s Business Daily notes that Boeing’s November deliveries of 44 planes mean it needs more than 60 in December to hit Wall Street’s fourth‑quarter expectations of around 160 jets — a very heavy lift in one month. ^[33]

2.5 Labour and Governance: NLRB and Strike Aftermath

In a separate Washington development, a U.S. Senate committee approved President Trump’s nomination of Boeing’s chief labour lawyer, Scott Mayer, to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), moving the stalled appointment to the full Senate. ^[34]

The context:

The NLRB has been effectively paralyzed with only one sitting member; filling seats would restore the board’s ability to decide labour cases. ^[35]
Senators grilled Mayer earlier over Boeing’s handling of the 101‑day machinists’ strike at its St. Louis‑area defense plants, a walkout that ended last month after workers accepted a new five‑year contract. ^[36]

While this doesn’t directly change near‑term earnings, it shapes the regulatory backdrop for union disputes, which has been a recurring risk factor in Boeing’s multi‑year saga.

3. What Analysts and Commentators Are Saying About BA Stock

3.1 Bernstein: Selloff Was an “Overreaction,” Price Target $267

An Investing.com summary of a Bernstein note reports that analyst Douglas Harned reiterated an “Outperform” rating and a $267 price target on Boeing. ^[37]

Harned characterizes the earlier post‑earnings selloff — driven by the 777X delay, a $4.9 billion charge, a 2026 cash‑flow shortfall and higher near‑term capex — as “a large overreaction.” ^[38]

In other words, Bernstein believes:

The structural demand for Boeing’s aircraft plus the renewed focus on cash flow can justify a share price well above current levels if execution improves.
The Spirit deal and production ramp‑ups remain key to unlocking that upside.

3.2 Short‑Term Reaction: Zacks, Insider Monkey and Others

Several daily‑flow outlets are flagging Boeing as one of the day’s most important movers:

Zacks’ “Stock Market News for Dec 3, 2025” highlights Boeing as a major contributor to the Industrial sector’s gains, thanks to the CFO’s updated outlook. ^[39]
A Zacks “Trending Stock” note (headline visible via aggregators) focuses on why Boeing (BA) has become a heavily traded name again, typically emphasizing estimate revisions, earnings outlook, and order trends. ^[40]
Insider Monkey and Yahoo Finance versions of “Boeing (BA) Climbs 10% as CFO Turns Upbeat for 2026” underscore Malave’s comments about increasing deliveries and turning free cash flow positive, and frame the stock’s move as part of a broader recovery in aerospace. ^[41]

Collectively, these outlets are amplifying one message: sentiment on Boeing has flipped from “uninvestable” to “turnaround in progress” — but still with caveats.

3.3 Benzinga: From Fear Trade to FOMO Trade?

A widely shared Benzinga article titled “Boeing Stock’s 10% Pop Is More Than A Rally — Is This The Turnaround Wall Street Missed?” argues that the market may finally be re‑pricing Boeing’s long‑term potential. ^[42]

Paraphrasing its main themes:

The 10% move isn’t just a one‑day squeeze; it reflects a “sentiment reset in real time” after months of pessimism about FAA scrutiny, production delays, and the balance sheet. ^[43]
The piece points to Dubai Airshow order wins, including a big flydubai deal, plus the Spirit acquisition, as proof that Boeing is not a broken franchise but a mispriced recovery story. ^[44]
The authors suggest the stock could transition from a “fear trade” to a FOMO trade if investors come to believe the cash‑flow plan is credible.

3.4 Seeking Alpha: “Comeback Is Real” – But Execution Still Critical

On Seeking Alpha, multiple Boeing‑focused analysts have turned increasingly bullish over the past month. The latest article, “Boeing’s Comeback Is Real, And Airbus Can’t Slip Again”, dropped this morning. ^[45]

From the titles and platform summaries (full text is paywalled), you can infer common themes:

Improving delivery stability, especially on the 737 MAX and 787 programs. ^[46]
A still‑large order backlog and a recovering wide‑body market partially offsetting narrow‑body share losses to Airbus. ^[47]
The view that recent 777X delays and MAX headaches are already reflected in the stock, leaving room for upside if Boeing simply executes on existing guidance rather than over‑delivering. ^[48]

However, not all Seeking Alpha contributors are pounding the table; earlier pieces in November warned that:

The turnaround is real but not yet complete,
The debt load is substantial, and
Program‑level risks (777X, MAX 7/10) could still bite if certification or quality issues re‑emerge. ^[49]

4. Fundamental Backdrop: Why the Boeing Story Still Hinges on Execution

4.1 Order Backlog and Market Demand

Despite years of crisis, Boeing still sits on a massive aircraft backlog:

Recent coverage pegs Boeing’s order book at roughly 5,900 jets worth about $636 billion, even after 737 MAX turmoil and multiple program delays. ^[50]

On the demand side, Boeing’s own 2025 Commercial Market Outlook projects:

Passenger air traffic to more than double by 2044,
The global jet fleet to nearly double, driven by emerging markets, a growing middle class and the replacement of older, less efficient aircraft. ^[51]

That long‑term growth assumption is the foundation of many bullish BA theses: if Boeing can simply deliver the planes it has already sold into a growing market, the cash will follow.

4.2 Production and Cash‑Flow Mechanics

Boeing’s cash‑flow story is tightly linked to how many aircraft it can produce and deliver, and at what margin.

737 MAX:

November production of 32 aircraft is below the FAA‑approved rate of 42 per month and the long‑term goal of 52. ^[52]
Supply‑chain constraints, quality fixes and the long tail of MAX‑related work continue to cap how fast the line can ramp. ^[53]

787 Dreamliner:

Production is near Boeing’s current goal at 7–8 aircraft per month, and November’s 8 deliveries support Malave’s comments about the program becoming a key driver of positive cash flow. ^[54]
Management’s medium‑term aspiration of 10+ aircraft per month would significantly boost FCF, but industry analysts warn that sustaining that level will be challenging without multiple consecutive months of stable output. ^[55]

777X and other wide‑bodies:

The 777X program has been repeatedly delayed and has already triggered a $4.9 billion charge, with certification and first deliveries now pushed to 2027. ^[56]
Until 777X and the MAX 7/10 reach customers, they remain cash drains due to ongoing development and rework, even as Boeing builds inventory. ^[57]

The December 2025 delivery push will be closely watched. If Boeing struggles to beat November’s 44 jets by a large margin, analysts will question whether the 2026 cash‑flow ramp is realistic. ^[58]

4.3 Balance Sheet and Debt

MarketWatch and Leeham both emphasize that Boeing’s debt pile is still heavy:

About $8 billion of debt matures next year, with another ~$3 billion expected once the Spirit deal closes, according to recent coverage of Malave’s comments. ^[59]

Malave has made it clear that de‑levering is a higher priority than near‑term shareholder payouts, which investors appear to welcome, judging by the positive reaction to his remarks despite the lack of a buyback or dividend restart timeline. ^[60]

5. Key Risks That Could Derail the Boeing Bull Case

Even with today’s optimism, several risk factors remain front and center:

Certification & Regulatory Risk
- Delays or additional requirements for MAX 7, MAX 10 or 777X could push back free‑cash‑flow inflection points and force new charges. ^[61]
- Ongoing scrutiny from U.S. and international regulators after past safety crises means Boeing has little room for error.
Supply‑Chain & Production Risk
- Forecast International’s November data highlight that 737 MAX output is still below target rates, and the wider aerospace supply chain remains fragile. ^[62]
Labour Relations
- The recent 101‑day machinists’ strike underscores the sensitivity of Boeing’s operations to union disputes. While a new five‑year contract is in place, future negotiations will be watched closely, especially as NLRB composition shifts. ^[63]
Competitive Pressure from Airbus
- Airbus still leads the narrow‑body market and, despite its current quality issues, intends to ramp A320neo output aggressively once fixes are in place. ^[64]
Macro & Rate Risk
- Higher interest rates and potential recessions can hurt airline finances and leasing economics, potentially leading to order deferrals or cancellations, even if long‑term traffic trends remain intact. ^[65]

6. Boeing Stock Forecast: What Today’s Signals Suggest

Putting the December 3 headlines together, the short‑ to medium‑term setup for BA looks like this:

Bullish Signals

Management is re‑committing to a clear cash‑flow roadmap: modest negative FCF in 2025, positive FCF in 2026, and a path toward $10 billion annually thereafter. ^[66]
The Spirit AeroSystems deal is moving forward, albeit with divestiture conditions, reducing long‑term supply‑chain risk for key Boeing programs. ^[67]
Analyst tone is turning more constructive (Bernstein, Seeking Alpha, Benzinga, Zacks), with several voices framing the recent selloff as overdone and the current price as a recovery‑story entry point. ^[68]
Airbus’s short‑term issues provide a modest competitive breather, particularly in narrow‑bodies. ^[69]

Bearish / Cautious Signals

The FTC’s conditions will complicate Spirit integration and may limit some of the synergy upside that bulls had pencilled in. ^[70]
Boeing is still playing catch‑up on production, especially on the 737 MAX line, and needs an unusually strong December to hit Q4 delivery targets. ^[71]
The balance sheet remains highly leveraged, and there is still no firm timetable for restoring dividends or buybacks. ^[72]
Certification and quality risks haven’t disappeared; a single new incident could sharply reverse sentiment again.

Bottom line: As of December 3, 2025, Boeing (BA) is trading around $200 per share in a tug‑of‑war between a credible cash‑flow turnaround plan and significant execution and regulatory risk. For investors, it remains a classic high‑risk/high‑reward industrial: potentially powerful upside if management simply hits its own milestones, but with very little margin for major new mistakes.

This overview is informational only and not financial advice. Anyone considering Boeing stock should weigh their own risk tolerance, time horizon, and diversification — and follow how December deliveries, the Spirit divestiture plan, and certification milestones evolve over the coming quarters.

References

Boeing (BA) Stock Today: Spirit AeroSystems Ruling, Cash-Flow Pledge and Airbus Troubles Move the Share Price – December 3, 2025