Key Points
Boeing has lost some of its luster over time due to quality and safety issues.
It's addressing its issues, and its massive backlog of orders should help with the recovery.
There's no dividend at the moment, though.
- 10 stocks we like better than Boeing ›
Most investors are likely aware of the giant aviation manufacturer Boeing (NYSE: BA). It's a blue chip stock. On its website, Boeing proclaims: "Committed to safety first" and "Safety is foundational to all that we do at Boeing."
Those are great directives for any business, but are they enough to sway an investor looking at the stock? And given some headlines regarding the company's planes' safety and quality over the past several years, are they believable? Is Boeing a company still worth investing in?
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Here are some examples of the headlines for stories about the company just in the past six months or so:
- "Boeing knew of flaw in part linked to UPS plane crash, report says" (BBC.com, Jan. 26, 2026)
- "Over 20 families sue Boeing over South Korea's deadliest air crash" (King5.com, Feb. 16, 2026)
- "Brand New United Airlines Plane Forced to Dump Fuel for Emergency Landing 45 Minutes After Takeoff" (People.com, April 24, 2026)
- "Boeing won't face criminal charge over 737 Max crashes that killed hundreds of people" (NPR.org, Nov. 7, 2025)
- "Boeing Tackles Quality With a 'War on Defects'" (NYTimes.com, Nov. 11, 2025)
More evidence that Boeing has faced some issues is the fact that it stopped paying dividends in 2020 and has yet to resume them. Still, the company does seem to be improving its safety and quality, so perhaps now might be a good time to take a closer look at this candidate for your long-term portfolio.
Why invest in Boeing?
There are positives aplenty when considering Boeing as an investment:
- After many years of losses, Boeing recently posted a net profit.
- First-quarter revenue was up 14% year over year. And its "defense, space, and security" division's revenue grew 21%.
- It has a record backlog of orders, to the tune of $695 billion.
- It benefits from being in a duopoly, as it and Airbus are the two main companies dominating their industry. It would be difficult for any company to join them, as it's so costly to become a large-scale aircraft manufacturer.
- It has been receiving a lot of orders from countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia. As such countries develop, they may continue ordering more planes.
- Due to recent global unrest and a U.S. defense budget that's already huge and may keep growing, Boeing may get even more orders.
Why you might not invest in Boeing -- yet
But there are some cautions, too:
- Boeing is carrying a lot of debt, recently at $47 billion. (It has been paying that down, though.)
- Building airplanes is an incredibly complicated process, so it may remain difficult to navigate quality issues.
The decision, of course, is yours. And if you're not sure enough about Boeing, that's OK, as there are plenty of other attractive stocks to consider. Plus, you can explore solid growth-oriented ETFs.
Should you buy stock in Boeing right now?
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Selena Maranjian has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Boeing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
