Boeing Stock Is Down 23% This Year — And Wall Street Still Can’t Agree on Where It Lands
When it comes to a stock like Boeing, there’s a certain kind of frustration that arises when the headline numbers seem almost perfect until you read on. In the third quarter of 2026, the company reported revenue of $24.19 billion, an increase of 4% over the previous year. At $464 million, its free cash flow exceeded analyst projections. At a record $745 billion, it has a backlog of orders. None of that sounds disastrous on paper. Nevertheless, the morning following earnings, the stock fell more than ten percent.
The value of Boeing stock, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BA, has dropped by about 23% thus far this year. On October 30, 2026, it was trading at about $172 per share, up from a 52-week low of $165, but still far below the $254 peak it had earlier in the year. That kind of decline begs the question, “What exactly is going wrong?” for a company that is still one of just two major manufacturers of commercial aircraft worldwide.
CEO Kelly Ortberg told investors that production is the primary issue. This year, Boeing had planned to deliver about 500 737 MAX aircraft. That figure is no longer occurring. By 2027, it is now anticipated that the 737 line will stabilize at 47 aircraft per month, with any increase to 52 aircraft per month being postponed until the latter half of that year. This type of delay is more than just an operational setback for a company that has been attempting to restore credibility with airlines, regulators, and shareholders following years of safety and quality concerns. And that’s how investors interpret it.
The discomfort was increased by the earnings miss. Compared to the $0.21 loss analysts had predicted, Boeing reported a core loss per share of $0.34. Overall, the quarter’s net loss was $116 million. That’s not a catastrophe in and of itself, but it shows that the business is still working to clean up its own past transgressions rather than constructing a clean future. The market seems to believe that Ortberg is outlining a real path to recovery, albeit one that is bumpier and slower than what the early-year stock price suggested. Perhaps this is the right interpretation.
Ortberg has been explicit about Boeing’s future direction. By 2029, he wants to have $10 billion in free cash flow. That is a number with a deadline, not an ambiguous goal. The ability of the 737 and 787 Dreamliner production lines to attain the stability that has eluded Boeing for years will be crucial to the company’s ability to reach that goal. Since the release of the earnings, a number of Wall Street analysts, including teams at Bernstein, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo, have reduced their price targets. For example, Bernstein has lowered its view from $278 to $223. That indicates the long-term case hasn’t completely collapsed because it’s still a significant premium over the stock’s current price.
Boeing is dismantling portions of itself in the interim. Three of its subsidiaries, Wisk Aero, SkyGrid, and Insitu, are being acquired by Archer Aviation, indicating that Boeing is focusing on its core operations. It’s difficult to determine whether to interpret that as a sign of distress or discipline—likely a combination of the two.
The peculiar thing about Boeing stock at the moment is that both optimism and pessimism may be true at the same time. The backlog is real. The route that Ortberg is outlining is not unrealistic. However, 2026 has shown that even when Boeing makes some mistakes, the market’s confidence must still be restored, one delivered jet at a time.
