AP Photo/Manuel Valdes
Yet Wall Street is optimistic that Ortberg can return the planemaker to a stronger position.
“Despite all the drama associated with Boeing, we continue to believe that the company deserves a premium earnings multiple because of the expected ramp-up in production and its strong aircraft backlog,” analysts from William Blair said in a Wednesday report.
Boeing’s production has been limited as it faces supply-chain constraints and renewed scrutiny from regulators in the wake of January’s Alaska Airlines blowout. But with a backlog of 5,400 planes worth more than $500 billion, it is clear airlines still want its planes.
“If Boeing and Airbus improve deliveries, backlogs will be reduced and increase customer confidence,” Peter McNally, global head of sector analysts at business research firm Third Bridge, told Business Insider in an email.
He added that a serious challenge from China’s Comac, which has been widely touted as a potential disruptor of the Boeing-Airbus duopoly, has so far failed to materialize.
“Honestly, our experts hear a lot less about Comac today than they did a few years ago, and these people have pointed to recent orders to Boeing and Airbus from Chinese customers as evidence,” McNally said.
In a note, Morningstar’s Nicolas Owens called on Boeing to lay out a “clear and bold product strategy and begin designing aircraft to meet that strategy in the next few years.”
Otherwise, he added, it could further lose ground to Airbus in the narrowbody market, where the A320 outsells the 737 Max.
Since taking charge in August, Ortberg has had to contend with many problems, and Wednesday’s union vote was certainly a further blow.
Yet, with a four-point plan to improve trust and build a new future, a path out of the crisis appears more visible than before.