Boeing on track to be 2024’s biggest loser in Dow Jones Index

Seattle: Boeing is really having a rough time lately. The company is on track to be the biggest loser in the Dow Jones Index for 2024, with shares dropping a whopping 32%. Meanwhile, its competitor Airbus is doing quite well, up over 11% this year, and the S&P 500 has gained more than 23%.

At the start of the year, Boeing’s shares were at $257.50. But things took a turn for the worse when a cabin panel blew out on a 737 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines. This incident led to investigations and a temporary grounding of the aircraft, which is pretty popular.

By the end of January, the FAA stepped in, capping Boeing’s 737 production at 38 planes a month due to safety concerns. This caused the stock price to drop to around $211. Unfortunately, the FAA hasn’t lifted that cap yet. Boeing has also been struggling to meet production targets because of supply chain issues, quality problems, and a lengthy strike that halted most of its commercial aircraft production.

Throughout the year, Boeing has been reporting significant losses across its commercial, military, and space programs. In July, they made a $4.7 billion deal to buy Spirit AeroSystems, a supplier that has also been facing production quality issues.

In August, Boeing got a new CEO, Kelly Ortberg, who replaced Dave Calhoun. But his time in the role started off rocky. In September, around 33,000 production workers went on strike over a contract dispute that lasted until November, when the stock hit a low of $137.07. During the strike, Ortberg announced plans to cut the workforce by 10% and warned that the company would keep losing money into 2025.

However, there’s a glimmer of hope. The promise to cut costs and the restart of 737 production in early December helped the stock recover a bit, bringing it back up to around $177 recently. Fingers crossed for Boeing as they navigate these choppy waters!