Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg speaks at Boeing Field at an event announcing Alaska Airlines’ order for 105 737 MAX 10s and five 787-10 Dreamliner jets, in Seattle, Washington, U.S., January 7, 2026.
Dan Catchpole | Reuters
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company expects to ramp up production of its best-selling 737 Max aircraft to 47 a month from 42 this summer, key to stemming the manufacturer’s losses.
“We’re hearing very good things about the quality of our airplanes” from customers, Ortberg told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Wednesday after the company reported a smaller-than-expected loss for the first quarter.
“All systems are go,” he said.
Boeing reported improvements across its businesses, including its key commercial aircraft unit, as the manufacturer tries to return to profitability.
Further increases of Max production requires Federal Aviation Administration approval, a requirement after a near-catastrophic blowout of a fuselage door plug in January 2024.
Ortberg said the company is also not seeing a slowdown in aircraft orders since the war in the Middle East began in February.
Here’s how Boeing performed in the first quarter, compared with analysts’ estimates compiled by LSEG:
- Loss per share: 20 cents adjusted vs. a loss of 83 cents expected
- Revenue: $22.22 billion vs. $21.78 billion expected
Sales rose 14% to $22.22 billion in the first three months of the year. The company narrowed its net loss in the first quarter to $7 million, or 11 cents a share, from a loss of $31 million, or 16 cents a share, a year earlier. Adjusting for one-time items, Boeing posted a loss of 20 cents a share.
“Though we’ve faced some challenges, I’m proud of how our team has pulled together and worked through them to keep us on plan for the year,” Ortberg told employees in a note Wednesday. “When we work as a team, it’s incredible what we can do as a company.”
Ortberg took the reins in August 2024, tasked with course-correcting for Boeing after years of safety and manufacturing crises that have cost the company billions of dollars.
Boeing said it still expects certification of the long-delayed 737 Max 7 and Max 10, the smallest and largest of the bestselling Max family aircraft, later this year, with deliveries starting in 2027.
Boeing’s commercial aircraft unit handed over 143 airplanes in the first quarter, up 10% from a year earlier. The unit, Boeing’s largest, posted revenue $9.2 billion, up 13%, though it still posted a loss from operations.
The company’s defense business revenue rose 21% to $7.6 billion, and its services business revenue increased 6% from 2025, to $5.37 billion in the first quarter.