Boeing Blowout: Will Trump's Investment Be Enough to Revive the Beleaguered Aircraft Manufacturer?

Watching the ups and downs of the Boeing company is watching a rollercoaster ride. In the beginning of 2025, the company reported its highest loss since lockdowns in 2020 - almost $11.5 billion dollars. With multiple lawsuits, strikes, losses and internal challenges, the demise of Boeing seemed almost certain. That's why it was a shock when President Trump chose to award the company with a contract to build the newest fighter jet for the ever-growing American military - the "F-47". The contract is worth over $20 billion, leading to an immediate rise in stock price for Boeing for almost 5%, with competitor Lockheed Martin's shares dropping by a significant 7%. Boeing's recovery is shockingly recent, with serious stock price drops and a series of major company crises in the past year.

On January 5th, 2024, at the beginning of the year, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was on its ascent when warning lights began flashing in the cockpit. Within seconds, a “door plug” - a piece of interior paneling blasted off the plane, exposing passengers to harsh winds at substantial altitude. The ensuing investigation revealed that the blowout was a result of lax manufacturing practices from none other than the world’s 4th largest aerospace company - Boeing. 

The ensuing media chaos from the incident essentially reversed a four-year process of tentative recovery for the giant -  leading to a contentious senate hearing and a drop in stock prices, from which Boeing has yet to fully recover. 

The Alaska incident was one among many historical cases of lax procedures and safety oversights in the company. In the past 5 years, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had investigated over 209 deaths and 398 injuries that occurred in Boeing Jets* - many of which were suspected to be caused by airplane defects. 

In the past 5 years, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had investigated over 209 deaths and 398 injuries that occurred in Boeing Jets* - many of which were suspected to be caused by airplane defects. 

In 2018, Boeing’s first major scandal erupted when the Indonesian airline, Lion Air, suffered a crash on a Boeing jet with 189 fatalities. This was followed by another devastating fatal crash of an Ethiopian Air flight, with another 157 dead. At the cost of lives, all Boeing 737 MAX Jets - the makers of both the jets that led to the deadly crashes - were grounded until December 2020. The grounding of the jets - their newest model and part of their race with commercial competitor, Airbus, led to the first major drop in market value for Boeing, the accidents bringing Boeing into contention with investors, the government and the public. 

2020 brought another blow to the company as the harbinger of COVID-19. In the worst years of the pandemic, as airports went into lockdown and airlines suffered enormous losses and refused to buy new aircraft. Boeing’s market value made a sharp drop that it has yet to fully recover from.

During COVID, Boeing bled cash, suppliers and workers at an alarming rate - laying off 10% of its workforce, shutting down factories and making consistent losses. Since 2020, Boeing has lost more than $2 billion every year, reporting the all-time loss of $11.5 billion in the beginning of 2025.

Boeing is part of an ongoing legal battle - United States vs. The Boeing Company - pleading guilty to  a fraud charge and settling with  a $2.5 billion deferred payment agreement. Most recently, on August 6-7th, 2024, the former Boeing CEO, David Calhoun, testified in the senate about lax safety culture and whistleblower intimidation at Boeing. The Trump administration's complicated relationship with the Department of Justice makes this an interesting lawsuit to be looking at, with the new contract potentially leading to further friction between the country's executive and judicial branches.

A bitter, 7-week strike by 33,000 Boeing employees (almost 20% of the company’s workforce) was just resolved in November. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace  district 751, mainly made of Washington State Boeing employees, went on strike against the company, costing an estimated $50 million every day.  The first strike by them in 16 years, they  protested a toxic work environment, low pay, and mistreatment by management - finally settling for a 38% pay raise.

Boeing has made aggressive moves towards recovery the past few months, taking sweeping action in attempt to recover the company. It made history by raising $24.3 billion of public offerings for equity, using the money to reform the company and ramp up production. This is the largest public equity issue ever offered by a company - losing just 2% of stock value. Since then, Boeing’s market value has seemed to be recovering, closing at 180 as of December 29th, 2024. Boeing has also employed new CEO Kelly Ortberg, who has laid out his plan to “get through...the strike, score up the balance sheet...and embark on a culture change” (CNBC Interview, November). So far, he has successfully negotiated an end to the strike. He also moved headquarters back to Seattle, signaling a shift in approach from previous management. After settling with the union, he has also placated company investors. His appointment may just be the thing for Boeing to finally see recovery. In July 2024, the acquisition of Spirit Aero Systems, a downstream supplier partially attributed for the Alaska door plug incident was finalized, a deal expected to be completed by the middle of this year. Recently, airlines have become more optimistic about Boeing's abilities as a supplier, signaling a return to dominance for the industry leader

Boeing's relationship with the new Trump administration is a similar rollercoaster, - Boeing's lobbying strategy in the 2024 election cycle was largely comprised of hedging, with a specific focus on countering the FAA. With almost equal donations to Republican and Democratic candidates, the company did not seem to take a particular stance on either administration. Upon the election of Donald Trump and subsequent imposition of tariffs, CEO Kelly Ortberg initially stated that he was "not too worried" by tariff threats, while later backtracking and suggesting that the cost of raw materials would increase for the company subsequently. Trump's frustration with the company made national news in late February, as the company delivered a series of Air Force One Jets late.

All this leads to a lot of mystery around the future of the company, especially in the next four months. Will Trump's Investment Be Enough to Revive the Beleaguered Aircraft Manufacturer? We'll find out in the next few months.