What happened
Shares of industrial conglomerate General Electric (GE -2.11%) were down by 2% as of 10 a.m. ET this morning. The move comes on the day one of its significant customers, Airbus (EADSY -0.67%), released its full-year 2022 earnings.
GE Aerospace is GE's primary earnings and cash-flow generator. Its joint venture with Safran, CFM International, manufactures the LEAP engine for the Boeing 737 MAX and is one of two engine providers on the Airbus A320neo family of aircraft. Given the importance of these two narrowbody airplanes (the workhorses of the skies), when one of them speaks, GE investors listen.
Unfortunately, Airbus spoke this morning and walked back expectations for a production ramp on its A320neo family airplanes. In December, Airbus' management updated investors, telling them it expected a production rate of 65 a month in 2023 and 2024 for the A320 family, and a rate of 75 a month by the middle of the decade. Fast-forward to today, and the new aim is 65 a month by the end of 2024, and 75 a month in 2026.
The news hit the share prices of GE and Raytheon Technologies, whose Pratt & Whitney business is the other engine manufacturer on the Airbus A320neo family.
So what
There are two ways to look at matters. First, new aircraft engines tend to come with negative margins (the real money is made in the decades of aftermarket revenue), so fewer engine deliveries than previously expected might lead to higher profits than anticipated in the near term.
Alternatively, GE wants more engines delivered to generate aftermarket revenue sooner -- this is probably what most investors want.
Now what
The news is slightly negative, but GE investors shouldn't worry too much. Boeing and Airbus are doing everything possible to increase airplane production, and the multi-year backlog of airplanes isn't going away anytime soon. As such, the pushed-out airplane deliveries, and in turn engines, will likely be delivered as demand remains high.
