Boeing Delivers 47 Jets in April as Orders Reach Highest Four-Month Total in 12 Years

Boeing delivered 47 jets in April, one more than the previous month, the company announced Tuesday. The total would have been higher except for customer requirements that shifted some deliveries into May. The planemaker also booked 135 net new orders during the month.

Those orders brought Boeing's year-to-date total after cancellations to 284 aircraft. That represents the highest four-month order total for the company in 12 years. The deliveries and orders come as Boeing works to improve its financial performance following consecutive years of negative free cash flow.

The company expects to generate between $1 billion and $3 billion of free cash flow in 2026. It still used more cash than it generated in the first quarter. A company spokesperson said last month that free cash flow should improve in the April-to-June period before turning positive in the second half of the year.

Deliveries are the point at which customers pay most of the cash for the aircraft. Higher and more consistent cash generation is expected to lead to improved earnings. Boeing is currently producing 42 of its 737 Max jets per month after receiving regulatory approval in October to increase output.

The company hopes to gain approval to raise that rate to 47 per month this summer. The Federal Aviation Administration has limited production of the 737 Max since the January 2024 Alaska Airlines door plug incident that highlighted quality control issues.

The current chief executive took over in August 2024 to address those problems.

Tuesday's announcement comes as the chief executive joins President Donald Trump and other business leaders for a trip to China this week. President Trump is scheduled to meet with President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday and Friday. The visit is viewed as a potential step toward ending a yearslong stretch without new orders from China, an important market for commercial aircraft.

In March, Bloomberg News reported that Boeing was in talks for an order of up to 500 737 Max jets. No agreement has been finalized. The chief executive said on an April call that he was highly confident any country-level agreement between the United States and China would include aircraft orders.

Shares of Boeing fell 1 percent Tuesday. A broad basket of airlines and planemakers tracked by the U.S. Global Jets ETF declined about 1.2 percent. The move came as oil prices rose during the session.