Boeing's (BA +3.22%) recent results helped confirm the improvement in its single most important operational metric: airplane deliveries from Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA). It's a positive development and helps build the buy case for the stock.
Boeing's deliveries matter
The chart below shows the strength of the relationship between BCA deliveries and the company's free-cash-flow (FCF) generation. This is completely understandable given that the BCA segment is its core business. Moreover, the best way Boeing can grow its profit margins is by ramping up deliveries, as it has a massive fixed cost structure. As more aircraft roll off the production line, the unit cost of each airplane will fall because fixed costs are spread across more aircraft.
NYSE: BA
Key Data Points
If the Wall Street consensus from Visible Alpha is a guide, Boeing's delivery ramp will reach $10 billion in 2028. Given that the company's market cap is only $175 billion, it would be trading at a very attractive valuation.
Data source: Company presentation. 2026-2028 estimates from Visible Alpha. Chart by the author.
Boeing is ramping up deliveries
The 737 MAX narrow-body is the key program to monitor, and the good news is Boeing has ramped up its production rate from 38 a month in 2025 to 42 a month at the end of 2025. Furthermore, according to CEO Kelly Ortberg on the recent earnings call, "On 737, we're now ramping to 47 airplanes per month after a successful Capstone review in May and expect factory rollouts to reach 47 per month this summer."
If Boeing continues to ramp up its narrow-body and wide-body deliveries according to its plans, then its FCF growth will support share price appreciation.
