Premium #213 – How Boeing Lost the Chess Game with Airbus

Last week Boeing announced more than 4,000 layoffs at a time that it is generating record orders, has turned around the 787 program, and return on equity is rebounding, as shown in the table below:

Revenues continue to grow to all time highs, and earning are strengthening.  While operating margins have slipped slightly, return on equity has improved, albeit not yet to levels seen in 2011.  But these numbers don’t appear to be alarming enough for layoffs.  What’s really going on behind the scenes?  Let’s examine what’s happening today at Boeing, and how that situation arose.