What happened
Stocks plunged on Thursday as Wall Street continues to worry about a potential recession in the U.S., the expanding impact of a war in Europe, and tensions between China and the West. Shares of Boeing (BA 1.96%), one of the companies most closely tied to international trade, fell more than the broader markets, down as much as 5% on Thursday morning.
So what
Boeing's core business is providing the airplanes that connect the globe, but it is getting harder to make the case there will be a lot of demand for those airplanes in the quarters to come. The S&P 500 fell more than 2% on Thursday on fresh commentary from Federal Reserve leadership saying the Fed is committed to taming inflation even if it means stalling the economy.
Elsewhere, tensions are high in Europe after the alleged sabotage of a key gas pipeline. The pipeline issue if nothing else will mean less natural gas transmission to Western Europe this winter, which could lead to further cuts in economic production. At worst, it could be the beginning of an escalation in tensions between Russia and European nations supporting Ukraine.
Boeing had hoped to see plane orders and sales rebound in 2022 after a difficult few years due to issues with the 737 MAX and the impact of the pandemic on airlines. The company's total debt ballooned by 400% during the crisis, and Boeing desperately needs a surge in new orders and the cash flow that comes with those orders to rebuild its balance sheet.
Instead, all investors can see today is uncertainty. Airlines are less likely to commit to massive new plane orders in such an uncertain environment, where there is no clear indication demand will grow from here.
NYSE: BA
Key Data Points
Now what
Boeing shares today trade below where they did on March 31, 2020, near the height of the pandemic. At that moment, there were questions about whether the airlines would survive. For as bad as things are today, the outlook is almost certainly better today than it was then.
The issue is there is no real catalyst on the horizon to provide a boost. For long-term-focused investors there is reason for optimism: Boeing is part of a global duopoly with Airbus and over the decades to come there will be ample demand for new, greener, replacement planes and to accommodate new demand from emerging markets.
But at this moment, that future looks a long way off. And potential buyers appear content to watch how this plays out from the sidelines instead of hopping on board and riding out the turbulence.
