Boeing taps Kelly Ortberg as new CEO, reports wider-than-expected Q2 loss and revenue miss

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Boeing (BA) on Wednesday named former Rockwell Collins CEO Kelly Ortberg its new president and CEO, replacing outgoing head Dave Calhoun. The troubled airplane maker also reported a wider-than-expected second quarter loss and revenue miss and warned cash flow burn would be larger than previously forecast for the year.

"The Board conducted a thorough and extensive search process over the last several months to select the next CEO of Boeing and Kelly has the right skills and experience to lead Boeing in its next chapter," said Boeing chairman Steven Mollenkopf in a statement.

Ortberg will start Aug. 8 and has been named to the Boeing board.

He will inherit an aerospace giant that has faced an extraordinarily turbulent year, which was reflected in its second quarter earnings report. Boeing reported revenue of $16.9 billion vs. $17.46 billion estimated per Bloomberg. The company also posted an adjusted loss per share of $2.90 vs. $1.82 estimated, resulting in a core operating loss of $1.392 billion.

Free cash flow burn hit $4.3 billion, topping the nearly $4 billion lost in Q1, meaning the company reported an astounding $8.256 billion in negative free cash flow for the first half of the year. On the analyst conference call, Boeing CFO Brian West warned the company would have “larger use of cash than previously forecast” for the rest of the year, again impacting free cash flow.

Boeing stock rolled over following West's comments, with the stock lower in early trade. The stock is down over 25% this year.

Not surprisingly, Boeing’s commercial deliveries took a hit in the second quarter as well. Boeing delivered 92 commercial jets in Q2, down from the 136 planes delivered year ago, a 32% drop. The 737 Max program had 70 deliveries in Q2, down from the 103 delivered a year ago.

Before its recent issues, Boeing had monthly production target of 38 737 MAX jets, with a stretch goal of 50 planes per month. Boeing confirmed that it intends to hit the 38-plane goal by the end of the year.

Boeing also delivered nine widebody Dreamliner jets in Q2, down from 20 a year ago. The Dreamliner jet has been the subject of a few whistleblower complaints in 2024 alone, highlighting more issues with Boeing’s production and assembly processes. Boeing said it plans to return to producing five 787s per month.

Boeing pulled its full-year outlook at the start of the year given the issues it was facing, most seriously at the time the Alaska Airlines door plug blowout in January.

Alaska Airlines N704AL, a 737 Max 9, which made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport on Jan. 5 is parked on the tarmac in Portland, Ore., on Jan. 23, 2024. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) · (PATRICK T. FALLON via Getty Images)

“Despite a challenging quarter, we are making substantial progress strengthening our quality management system and positioning our company for the future,” said Dave Calhoun, outgoing Boeing president and CEO.