Boeing's Cash Flow Struggles Despite Delivery Recovery

Boeing's delivery recovery is real, but its cash flow remains a concern. The company delivered more airplanes in Q2 2026 than any quarter since 2018, yet still lost ground over the past year.

The issue lies not in volume alone, but also in what each airplane earns. Boeing's 737 and 787 programs are running at depressed cash margins, slightly above breakeven, with expectations to reach 2018 levels by the end of the decade.

The constraint is largely due to a backlog of orders, where pricing drags dissipate only as deliveries work through. This has resulted in trailing net margin of 2.6% and operating margin of -5.4%, with profit arriving from below the operating line rather than from the factories.