NEW YORK, July 4, 2026, 17:02 (EDT)
- Boeing NYSE:BA finished at $226.49 on July 2, gaining 3.62% ahead of the NYSE’s July 3 shutdown for Independence Day.
- The stock rose 4.25% in five days, almost the same as its 4.32% gain for the year so far.
- Boeing’s next event on the calendar is its second-quarter earnings call, set for July 28.
- Deliveries are still key for cash flow. Boeing handed over fewer jets than Airbus in May.
Boeing NYSE:BA heads into the July 4 break with nearly all of its 2026 gains squeezed into one shortened week. The NYSE will observe Independence Day in 2026 on Friday, July 3, so Boeing’s last regular close came Thursday at $226.49, up $7.91, or 3.62%.
The shift is notable since this wasn’t a gradual move. MarketWatch numbers put Boeing up 4.25% for the last five days, almost matching its 4.32% gain since the start of the year. Strip out Thursday’s pop and the rest of the five-day gain is just about 0.6%, using those same returns.
| Boeing closes holiday-short week higher | Close | Daily move | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 26 | $217.25 | — | 11.70 mln |
| June 29 | $214.69 | -1.2% | 5.85 mln |
| June 30 | $216.47 | +0.8% | 7.01 mln |
| July 1 | $218.58 | +1.0% | 4.21 mln |
| July 2 | $226.49 | +3.6% | 6.06 mln |
MarketWatch data lists July 2 closing at $226.49, with a high of $227.52, a low of $220.68, and 6,055,010 shares traded. For June 26, the table shows a close of $217.25 and volume at 11,704,460.
The move tacked on around $6.2 billion in market cap for Boeing on Thursday, based on the $7.91 jump per share and WSJ data showing 788.30 million shares outstanding. But the stock was still trading roughly 11% under its 52-week peak at $254.35.
| July 2 close move | Price/level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Boeing NYSE:BA | $226.49 | up 3.62% |
| RTX Corp. NYSE:RTX | $199.25 | gained 3.90% |
| Lockheed Martin NYSE:LMT | $545.91 | jumped 4.62% |
| Northrop Grumman Corp. NYSE:NOC | $549.01 | rose 5.59% |
| S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) | 7,483.24 | flat |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) | 52,900.07 | added 1.14% |
Boeing wasn’t at the top of the defense sector on July 2. RTX, Lockheed, and Northrop each saw bigger gains, while the S&P 500 stayed flat and the Dow added 1.14%. Boeing’s rise looked tied to the group move in industrials and defense, not a stock-specific shift.
Boeing’s operations weren’t as strong. The company handed over 60 jets in May, a 33% jump on last year, with 51 of those 737 MAX planes. Airbus SE EPA:AIR still outpaced Boeing in May, delivering 81 aircraft. By the end of May, Boeing had delivered 250 jets this year, while Airbus hit 262.
CEO Robert Kelly Ortberg linked Boeing’s 2026 cash outlook to aircraft deliveries. At a Bernstein event, when asked what will determine if Boeing makes $1 billion or $3 billion in free cash flow, Ortberg said, “How many airplanes we deliver probably will be … the determining factor.” He added that Boeing’s inventory is still “higher than we want for sustained production.”
Labor is back on the agenda for the week. Boeing and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace started formal contract negotiations June 30, with current deals set to run out in October. The union covers about 17,000 engineers and tech staff. “Anything that jeopardizes our progress would hurt our customers,” Boeing vice president Ben Nimmergut told members, according to Reuters.
Boeing now trades at 116.45 times trailing earnings and pays no steady dividend, according to WSJ data. That leaves little cushion for setbacks, with the stock valued on hopes for delivery recovery and future cash flow, not on current income.
Boeing plans to release its second-quarter results on July 28. CEO Ortberg and CFO Jay Malave are set to go over the numbers and outlook in a call at 10:30 a.m. ET.
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