How is the 787 doing in the market? The 787 program is key to Boeing’s financial success, and needs additional sales to enable recovery of the $29 billion in development costs over the life of the program.
Boeing has a huge amount of its capital tied up in this program. A leading analyst estimates that Boeing must recover $36 million per 787 yet to be delivered to offset the $29bn development costs, never mind production costs and profit. That number is no small hurdle. Consider the 2016 current market value, per Collateral Verifications, for a 787-8 at $117 million and the 787-9 at $143 million. Take the $36 million off those values (787-8 at under $81 million and 787-9 under $107 million) and Boeing must build a 787 for less than the balance to earn a profit.
