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By Brian Nelson, CFA
On March 25, Boeing (BA) announced that CEO Dave Calhoun will step down as CEO at the end of 2024. The move comes weeks after an incident on an Alaska Airlines (ALK) flight where part of the fuselage blew out. The company’s Independent Board Chair Larry Kellner also announced that he would not stand for reelection at the next annual meeting. New Independent Board Chair Steve Mollenkopf will succeed Kellner and lead efforts to select Boeing’s next CEO. Mollenkopf has been on the board since 2020 and previously served as CEO of Qualcomm (QCOM). Further, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Stan Deal will retire from Boeing effective immediately and be replaced by Stephanie Pope, who has been serving as COO of Boeing since the beginning of this year. Pope had previously been President and CEO of Boeing Global Services and has held positions in various other areas at Boeing.
We like the shake-up in the executive suite at Boeing, and while there is much work to do to get Boeing back on track to improve relations with the public regarding the safety of their planes following a number of incidents the past few years, we’re optimistic the changes will be a means to that end. Boeing is reportedly in talks to acquire Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) to get a better handle on its supply chain, and we continue to monitor Boeing’s financial position as its debt ratings have been put under review by Moody’s of late. The road ahead for Boeing will be an challenging one, but we think the company will eventually find its way. Boeing continues to benefit from its oligopolistic position in the aircraft making industry, and its backlog of unfulfilled deliveries remains robust. We’re not changing our fair value estimate of Boeing as a result of the management shakeup, but we don’t have any plans of adding Boeing to any newsletter portfolio at this time either. Our favorite ideas for aerospace exposure remain Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Honeywell (HON).
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Tickerized for BA, SPR, EADSY, ITA, PPA, HON, LMT
Brian Nelson owns shares in SPY, SCHG, QQQ, DIA, VOT, RSP, and IWM. Valuentum owns SPY, SCHG, QQQ, VOO, and DIA. Brian Nelson’s household owns shares in HON, DIS, HAS, NKE, DIA, RSP, SCHG, QQQ, QQQM, and VOO. Some of the other securities written about in this article may be included in Valuentum’s simulated newsletter portfolios. Contact Valuentum for more information about its editorial policies.
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