Boeing (BA) is targeting deliveries of roughly 500 aircraft from its 737 lineup this year as it gradually lifts production, though executives cautioned that past inventory will no longer provide a boost.
The company expects to hand over the last remaining 737 Max 8 jet built before 2023 during the current quarter, Chief Financial Officer Jay Malave said on Tuesday’s earnings call. Boeing (BA) has also reduced its backlog of earlier-built 787 Dreamliners to about five aircraft.
Those planes represent the tail end of a large stockpile accumulated during years of disruption, when hundreds of jets were assembled but not delivered and later required extensive rework. Executives have previously likened the effort to a “shadow factory,” reflecting the cost and labor involved. With that inventory nearly exhausted, investors will gain a clearer picture of how Boeing’s (BA) active production lines are performing.
The manufacturer expects to achieve most of its narrowbody delivery goal, which would represent a roughly 12% increase from 2025, by accelerating output at its facilities in the Seattle region and by activating a fourth final assembly line at its Everett, Washington site.
While Boeing (ba) declined to issue formal guidance on revenue or deliveries, management said total aircraft shipments should rise by around 10% this year. That figure includes between 90 and 100 deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner, one of the company’s most profitable widebody programs.
Airbus (EADSF) (EADSY), Boeing’s (BA) main competitor, is expected to disclose its own annual delivery goals when it reports earnings in the coming weeks.
Because aircraft makers typically collect most of the purchase price when jets are delivered, delivery figures are closely tracked by investors as an indicator of financial performance.
Airbus (EADSF) (EADSY) has adjusted its targets in recent years as supply-chain pressures, including engine shortages, have persisted. Boeing (BA) has been partly shielded from similar constraints after entering 2025 with excess inventory following production setbacks and a series of crises last year, including a serious in-flight incident and a prolonged labor strike at its U.S. factories.
Ortberg said Boeing’s (BA) supply network is unlikely to be meaningfully strained until the company begins pushing 737 production toward 52 aircraft a month.