Here's Why Boeing Stock Rocketed Higher Today

Boeing (NYSE: BA) stock rose by as much as 8.7% in trading before 10 a.m. today. By 12:10 p.m. ET, the stock was up 5.5%. The move comes as investors cheered the company's first-quarter earnings report, which was released earlier. Frankly, the market had reason to be optimistic.

Boeing delivers

The aerospace and defense giant is one of the most fascinating stocks. Yes, it has plenty of near-term headwinds and exposure to risk around tariffs and the economy's overall direction. On the other hand, its well-regarded CEO, Kelly Ortberg, has a huge opportunity to engineer a turnaround at the company simply by executing well.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

As such, Boeing is almost a "self-help" story, and the good news from this earnings report is that the company seems to be starting to help itself. Boeing and Ortberg need to improve the delivery rate on their commercial airplanes, notably the narrow-body 737 MAX, and the profit margin at the Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) business, notably on its troublesome fixed-price development programs.

First, management confirmed that the 737 and the wide-body 787 programs were on track. It expects to reach a monthly delivery rate of 38 and seven, respectively, by the end of the year. That confirms what Boeing supplier Hexcel's CEO, Tom Gentile, said recently, "Boeing is doing very well on their production. They're getting up in rate."

Second, the following chart speaks for itself. BDS generated a 2.5% operating profit margin in the quarter, and management plans to return to high single-digit margins over time.

Data source: Boeing presentations. Chart by the author.

Where next for Boeing

The company still faces risks, not least from tariff conflicts. Still, Boeing's demonstration of operational progress in the first quarter is a significant plus and gives confidence that Ortberg will turn the company around.

Should you invest $1,000 in Boeing right now?

Before you buy stock in Boeing, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Boeing wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $561,046!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $606,106!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 811% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 153% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Hexcel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.