One Thing That's Even Better for Boeing Than Its Q4 Revenue Beat
Key Points
Passenger jet maker Boeing seems to be selling more aircraft now than it has of late.
The quarterly comparison in and of itself, however, isn’t nearly as bullish as it seems on the surface.
Nevertheless, a great deal of future revenue is already lined up and waiting to be booked.
- 10 stocks we like better than Boeing ›
Well done, Boeing (NYSE: BA)! Last quarter's top line of just under $24 billion not only topped analysts' expectations of $22.6 billion but also improved the year-earlier figure by 57%. The company also swung back to a profit, offering a glimmer of hope to the beleaguered aircraft maker's investors.
There's a fairly important footnote to add to these numbers, though. That is, the comparison was to a rather lousy fourth quarter of 2024, when revenue fell 31% year over year. Indeed, it did $24 billion less business than it did in the final quarter of 2018, shortly before a couple of fatal crashes of new Boeing-made aircraft hinted at potential design flaws.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks »
Nevertheless, this commercial aircraft manufacturer's future has never been brighter in a far more important regard. That's its backlog of orders that have yet to be delivered. As of the end of last year, Boeing is sitting on a record-breaking $682.2 billion worth of airplane orders. And the backlog's growth appears to be accelerating.
Data source: The Boeing Company. Chart by author.
Orders can be canceled, of course. But that's not particularly common and is likely to become even less so. In its most recent projection for the air travel business (released last year), Boeing indicated the industry will need 43,600 new passenger jets between 2025 and 2044. For perspective, the International Air Travel Association reports there are 30,300 such planes in active use right now, plus another 5,250 held in storage as backups. Already at an average age of around 15 years, though, these will mostly be retired between now and 2044.
This is obviously good news for Boeing, and by extension for its shareholders. It's only a long-term tailwind, though. It won't necessarily prevent BA stock from suffering sizable (even if temporary) setbacks.
Still, this backlog's persistent growth supports the argument that any such dip is now a long-term buying opportunity.
Should you buy stock in Boeing right now?
Before you buy stock in Boeing, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Boeing wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $450,256!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,171,666!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 942% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 196% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of February 1, 2026.
James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Boeing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
