Someone remind me: What is it you're supposed to do in case of a crash landing? Duck and cover? Stop, drop, and roll? Whatever calisthenics you practice, I doubt they'll make Boeing's (NYSE:BA) Q3 earnings report (due out Wednesday) look any better. But at least you can be prepared.
What analysts say:
- Buy, sell, or waffle? Thirty-five analysts keep Boeing on their radar, but don't think that makes it a "popular" stock. Only six of 'em rate Boeing a buy, while 25 say it's just a hold, and four think it's time to sell.
- Revenue. Yet the numbers aren't all bad. Analysts predict 12.4% sales growth to $17.2 billion.
- Earnings. They predict a reversal of last year's profits, for a $2.12-per-share loss.
What management says:
Give Boeing this much -- its press department is no wallflower. Hardly a week goes by without Boeing making news in one way or another. In recent weeks, we've seen the restart of last year's KC-X contest between Boeing and Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC), congressional wrangling over the C-17 transport, and a series of delivery delays in high-profile airliners like the 747-8 freighter and the 787 Dreamliner.
What management does:
Yet from a numerical perspective, we also saw Boeing begin a turnaround in the second quarter. Across the board, gross, operating, and net margins, all of which had seemingly been in freefall, ticked up in Q2:
|
March 2008 |
June 2008 |
September 2008 |
December 2008 |
March 2009 |
June 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Gross |
19.8% |
19.2% |
18.7% |
17.3% |
16.2% |
16.6% |
|
Operating |
9.1% |
8.7% |
8.2% |
6.1% |
4.8% |
5.3% |
|
Net |
6.6% |
6.3% |
5.8% |
4.4% |
3.4% |
3.6% |
All data courtesy of Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's. Data reflects trailing-12-month performance for the quarters ended in the named months.
One Fool says:
Analysts' projected loss for Q3 should hit the eject button on that trend and halt Boeing stock's recent outperformance of even this hugely bullish market -- or will it?
After all, one side effect of Boeing's headline-making ways is that this company's woes are well-known. In contrast, if Boeing has any pleasant surprises in store for us Wednesday, those could easily move the stock. For example, management recently reaffirmed that it will put a 787 in the air by year-end.
If Boeing can stick to its schedule -- or even better, provide a more specific date for the 787 -- that would be brilliant news for customers like Delta (NYSE:DAL), Continental (NYSE:CAL), and AMR (NYSE:AMR). It would also reassure 787 suppliers like Honeywell (NYSE:HON) and United Technologies (NYSE:UTX) that orders are on the way.
And the loudest cheering of all? That would come from Boeing's long-suffering shareholders. So while it's a big "if" ... fingers crossed.
What do you think Boeing's headline announcement will be Wednesday? Will the company confirm a deadline for the 787 test flight? Reveal which 7-model it'll submit for the KC-X competition? Promise a (gasp!) profit in 2010? Scroll down and sound off.
