Episode summary
Boeing Delivers Most Jets in 18 Months | Bloomberg Intelligence
Bloomberg Intelligence
· · Hosts: Paul Sweeney, Lisa Mateo · Guests: George Ferguson, Mandeep Singh, Brandon Daniels
Summary
Boeing’s June deliveries signaled a clear step up in production health, with the guest saying the company delivered about 60 aircraft and that roughly 42 were 737s, Boeing’s key profit engine. He said only five of those 42 appeared to be inventory aircraft, implying most of the output came from the factory rather than from older stock, which supports the view that throughput and labor stability are improving. He also argued that Kelly Ortberg’s early scorecard is positive if quality, throughput, cash generation, and the balance sheet keep improving.
The guest also said the Air India 787 crash is more likely to turn out to be an engine issue than a Boeing manufacturing problem, though he stressed that the investigation is still early. On orders, he said Boeing did not see much at the Paris Air Show and expects tariffs to keep pressuring new aircraft commitments until the trade backdrop clears, especially because Boeing’s 737 production is concentrated in the U.S.
The episode then shifted to AI competition, where the guest said Meta is spending aggressively to poach top researchers and build scale in AI, while Apple remains relatively behind on model infrastructure and may rely more on partnerships and on-device features. A third segment argued that Trump’s tariff policy is really about reshoring manufacturing, tightening supply chains, and raising the cost of transshipment, with autos presented as the clearest test case.
Key takeaways
- The guest said Boeing’s June deliveries, including about 42 737s, suggest the factory is improving rather than just clearing inventory.
- The guest said five of those 42 737s were inventory deliveries, a sign Boeing’s production system is strengthening.
- The guest said the Air India 787 crash is more likely to point to an engine problem than a Boeing manufacturing defect.
- The guest said tariffs are still delaying Boeing orders because the company’s 737 production base is in the United States.
- The guest said Meta is spending heavily on AI talent, while Apple is more likely to lean on partnerships and on-device AI.
Notable quotes
“we see about 60 deliveries. Uh, of that, I think, uh, we had maybe 42 or so, 737 deliveries”
“What we're seeing right now when we look at Syria is five of those 42 airplanes are inventory deliveries, airplanes that were flown previous to this year”
“Meta is going big in terms of poaching the top AI researchers”
“the consumer is going to be the last to feel it. And I think uh you know, the the the fact is this is going to be absorbed somewhere in the supply chain”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news. You're listening to the Bloomberg Intelligence Podcast. Catch us live weekdays at 10 a.m.
Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business App. Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts or watch us live on YouTube. Boeing shares have really been under pressure lately.
um investors waiting detailed to from flight data equipment. So here to tell us more about it, break it all down for us, George Ferguson, Bloomberg Intelligence, Senior Aerospace Defense Airlines analyst. Uh George, I want to start with the flight data equipment to um start here.
Have they found all of them? And and what particularly will they be looking for when it comes to this equipment? Yes.
So I I totally sure if they found all the equipment. I knew they had found some of the recorders. Um, I think once they get into it, I assume you're talking about the Air India crash, right?
Correct. Correct. Yeah.
And when they get into it, I think one of the items they're absolutely going to focus on is going to be uh what was going on in the engines in that Air India 787. Uh, you know, look, a Boeing 787 can lose one engine and still take off and and gain altitude. So the the videos we saw uh circumstances indicate that the both engines potentially were not producing enough lift.
Uh so my guess is that's where the focus is going to be is on what was going on in the engines. It was 11year-old airplane. So we think that when all is said and done probably not going to be a manufacturing issue either at Boeing or GE from original manufacturer.
uh and probably going to be some sort of engine issue which I think would probably uh you know put Boeing uh uh not in the responsible category you know for that that crash even though obviously something we're never happy to see and uh you know very sorry about that.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- boeing deliveries
- aircraft exports to china
- ai model leadership changes
- meta hiring
- trump tariffs
Companies and tickers mentioned
- BA
- AAPL
- META
- Boeing
- Apple
- Meta
- Exiger
Watch the episode
Watch “Boeing Delivers Most Jets in 18 Months | Bloomberg Intelligence” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
More from Bloomberg Intelligence
-
Instant Reaction: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Ousted by Nvidia Board | Bloomberg Intelligence -
Nvidia’s Huang Ousted by Board in Move That Roils AI Economy | Bloomberg Intelligence -
CoreWeave Shares Soar After AI Computing Firm Eases Debt Fears | Bloomberg Intelligence -
Anthropic Targets $1.4 Trillion Valuation in Blockbuster IPO | Bloomberg Intelligence -
Nvidia Probe Into CEO Affair Raises Thorny Questions for AI | Bloomberg Intelligence -
Election 'Blue Wave' & Your Wallet; Navigating AI-Driven Market Volatility | Bloomberg Intelligence
Bloomberg Intelligence, this episode and its artwork belong to Bloomberg. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
