Boeing (BA) has gone nearly two months without building a 777 freighter, Reuters reported on the evening of Friday, October 23. The cause is a dispute with Vaero, a small Florida supplier, over a single wing part. Boeing declined to comment.
The timing matters for the stock. Boeing shares closed Friday at $188.35, up 0.44%. The report landed at 7:43 p.m. ET, minutes before after-hours trading ended, so Monday is the first full session to price it. The day after that, Boeing reports third-quarter results.
What Broke at Everett
- The part: the trailing-edge rib kit, which Boeing called “indispensable” in an August court complaint. Vaero is the sole supplier.
- The fallout: wing work at Everett stalled, halting the 777F and disrupting the 767 freighter and KC-46 tanker lines.
- The settlement: reached in late September, though 777F production still hadn’t restarted by Friday (according to three Boeing workers).
- What’s spared: the 777X, which uses a different composite wing.
One worker said Boeing pulled two partly built 777Fs off final assembly, and Reuters matched one to FedEx (FDX) using IBA data. Boeing is now trying to make the rib kit itself.
Sizing Boeing’s $6.5 Million a Day
Boeing’s complaint put the cost at up to $6.5 million a day. Run that across a full 60 days and the worst case comes to about $390 million.
That’s not small next to Boeing’s cash flow. Boeing generated $630 million of free cash flow in the second quarter, its best result in two years. Even so, the last four quarters add up to a $200 million outflow. The worst case equals about 62% of that best quarter. It won’t break the balance sheet, but it lands just as cash flow was finally turning positive.
The Bigger Cost Is Timing
Boeing hasn’t disclosed what the halt has actually cost so far, and the $6.5 million is the upper estimate from its own complaint. Deliveries are harder to fix. Boeing has handed over 21 777Fs this year. Two of the workers said a handful of jets with wings built before the dispute could still ship by year-end. After those, the line needs parts it doesn’t have yet.
The KC-46 is the other exposure. It’s a fixed-price program, so extra costs land on Boeing, not the Air Force. Boeing already took a $0.7 billion KC-46A charge in October 2024, tied partly to its decision to end 767 freighter production.
TIKR Tracks 29 Analysts on Boeing. How Many Say “Buy”?
See the full breakdown of Buy, Hold, and Sell ratings on Boeing, along with Wall Street’s revenue and earnings estimates, all in one place. More than 500,000 investors use TIKR to research stocks like this one. See Boeing’s Analyst Ratings
Boeing’s October 27 Call Matters More
The Street isn’t panicking. The mean price target sits at $267, about 42% above Friday’s close. Boeing stock has barely moved in three years while targets kept climbing. Still, the mean has slipped from about $275 in August and September.
Boeing reports on Tuesday, October 27, with the call at 10:30 a.m. ET. The line I want to hear is a restart date for the 777F. The halt already runs from late August into the fourth quarter, so this won’t be a one-quarter story either way. A firm date and no new KC-46 charge would keep it a contained supply problem. Without one, the risk grows that some 777Fs Boeing planned to deliver this year slip into 2027.
So What Is Boeing Stock Actually Worth?
TIKR lets you forecast the future price of any stock in less than a minute. Just enter a few assumptions into TIKR’s valuation model and see what BA stock could be worth. Start from Wall Street consensus estimates, or adjust the inputs to reflect your own view of the business. It’s free to use.
Value The Boeing Company for free→
Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
