Boeing signals transformation
Guy Malave, Boeing’s chief financial officer, announced on December 2, 2025 that the company expects a meaningful rebound in deliveries of its 737 and 787 aircraft in 2026 — a sign that Boeing’s long-term recovery may be gaining real momentum.
Malave provided the update at a conference hosted by UBS, describing Boeing’s transformation as “full steam ahead.” He pointed to the 737 and 787 programs as major contributors to the expected rise in deliveries. On the corporate financing front, Boeing now expects a return to positive free cash flow in 2026. The company expects “low single-digit” free cash flow in the billions of US dollars, reflecting expected 2025 cash outlay of US$2 billion.
And improved deliveries alone aren’t the only lever – Boeing is also seeing margin improvements coming from enhanced productivity in its manufacturing infrastructure, lower undelivered aircraft inventory, improved performance in its defense sector, and growth in its services operations.
“In the big picture, we expect deliveries on both the 737 and 787 to grow despite the fact that we have fewer aircraft to be delivered from inventory,” Malafi said.
Investors responded positively: Boeing shares rose strongly on the news, reflecting renewed confidence that the company may finally emerge from a long period of production, safety and cash flow challenges.
However, Boeing still faces several headwinds, underscoring that the path to full recovery remains incomplete. While the 737-10 narrowbody aircraft is scheduled to receive certification — possibly in late 2026 — that approval is still pending. On the other hand, Boeing also incurred significant charges and delays related to its wide-body 777X program, which continue to impact its longer-term free cash flow outlook for 2026 and beyond. Malav also noted that the Justice Department’s sanction originally scheduled for 2025 will now move to 2026.
Longer term, Boeing maintains a key goal of generating $10 billion annually in free cash flow — “there’s no reason we can’t get there once we get to those higher rates,” Malav said.
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