After United Airlines win, Boeing is involved in ‘more big orders,’ CEO says

“There are some big interests in aviation — I would say the majority now outside the U.S., as opposed to inside the U.S. — who are considering some really big things,” he said. “And we’re in the midst of all of those.”

The CEO described himself as “pretty optimistic” but declined to forecast numbers. “I do think, over the next couple of quarters, you will see some big decisions made,” he said. “And you will see some new entrants into the aviation world that aim to make a real difference, again, largely in the global markets.”

In December, United 
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and Boeing announced that the airline had agreed to buy 100 787 Dreamliner planes, with the option to purchase 100 more, and had also committing to buying 100 737 Max jets. Boeing said that United’s was the “largest 787 Dreamliner order in Boeing history.” At the time, Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu described the order as “a significant win for Boeing.”

Now read: Boeing’s stock slides in premarket after it reports a surprise fourth-quarter loss

Boeing’s stock rose 0.7% Wednesday after the company reported a surprise fourth-quarter loss, while the S&P 500
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declined 0.3%. The aircraft maker’s stock has risen 12.1% over the last 12 months, compared with the S&P’s decline of 8%.

Including the United deal, Boeing secured net orders for 376 aircraft during the fourth quarter.

The aircraft maker delivered 152 commercial airplanes during the fourth quarter, up from 99 in the same quarter of the previous year. The company’s backlog included over 4,500 airplanes valued at $330 billion, according to Boeing. More 737 and 787 deliveries pushed the company’s commercial-airplane revenue to $9.2 billion, up from $4.75 billion in the prior year’s quarter.

Calhoun also provided an update on Boeing’s efforts to develop a new type of aircraft wing. The company is working with NASA on the agency’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project, which aims to develop green single-aisle airliners. As part of the project, Boeing and NASA are working to develop and flight-test a full-scale demonstration aircraft that uses transonic truss-braced wings.

A transonic truss-braced wing is an extralong, thin wing that is stabilized by diagonal struts. An aircraft using the wings would create less drag and therefore burn less fuel, according to Boeing and NASA.

Related: United Airlines’ order is ‘significant win’ for Boeing

“That is technology that has been worked on for the better part of a decade, alongside NASA, and the program that we have embarked on here is how do you commercialize it?” Calhoun said on the call. “How do we put it through the right set of tests, etc., so that it in fact can be incorporated into new airplanes?”

He added: “There’s real intent there to be able to do it. It will definitely have a role to play someday in the narrow-body world.”

NASA plans to complete testing for its Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project by the late 2020s, with the resulting technologies and designs influencing single-aisle aircraft that enter service in the 2030s.

Of 26 analysts surveyed by FactSet, 18 have an overweight or buy rating, seven have a hold rating and one has a sell rating for Boeing.