Boeing reports 1st annual profit since 2018 on asset sale

NEW YORK: Boeing reported its first annual profit since 2018 Tuesday on gains from an asset sale, as it eyes increased plane production while pointing to progress emerging from a lengthy slump.

Full-year 2025 profits were $1.9 billion, Boeing reported, compared with a loss of $11.9 billion in 2024.

Boeing has faced heavy regulatory scrutiny following fatal 2018 and 2019 crashes that led to a lengthy grounding of the 737 MAX and intensified scrutiny of its commercial aviation program that has limited output.

While Boeing last year delivered the highest number of planes since 2018, the driving factor behind both quarterly and annual profit was completion of a $10.6 billion sale of aviation software assets including Jeppesen to Thoma Bravo.

Boeing won approvals in 2025 from the US Federal Aviation Administration to lift production on both the MAX and its other top-selling plane, the 787 Dreamliner.

READ MORE: Boeing reports USD5.4bn loss on large hit from 777X aircraft delays

The company expects further production increases on both programs in 2026.

“As we work together to continue our turnaround, we’re making good progress and there’s a lot to be optimistic about as we start the year,” CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a letter to employees.

Ortberg, in an interview with CNBC, said Boeing expects free cash flow of between $1 billion and $3 billion in 2026.

Wall Street has been monitoring Boeing’s progress on the benchmark after it previously targeted $10 billion in free cash flow as a medium-term objective.

“We’re marching to this $10 billion free cash flow number and it’s going to take us a little bit of time, but we’ve got a methodical plan to get there,” Ortberg told CNBC.