Boeing Stock Jumps. What the New CFO Just Said.

Boeing investors usually keep a close eye on cash flow. (GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/ Getty Images)

Boeing stock jumped Tuesday after new CFO Jay Malave offered an optimistic outlook for cash generation.

Shares surged 10%, closing at $205.28, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.

Malave, who joined Boeing from Lockheed Martin about three months ago, made positive comments about free cash flow while speaking at an investor conference hosted by UBS on Tuesday.

“For next year, we absolutely expect to grow…cash flow,” said Malave. For 2025, free cash flow should be a use, or negative, $2 billion. He expects positive free cash flow in 2026, likely in the “low-single-digit” billions.

More importantly, Malave said $10 billion in annual free cash flow down the road is “very doable.”

He added that 737 MAX production increases were going “according to plan,” and that deliveries are expected to rise in 2026. Boeing is expected to deliver 600 jets in 2025. Wall Street models closer to 700 next year.

Production improvement is important, but Malave’s cash comments are likely to garner the most attention. Cash flow is key for Boeing investors, because the company has used tens of billions in cash since two deadly 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019.

Coming into Tuesday trading, shares were down about 17% since Boeing reported third-quarter earnings in late October. That report included charges for the 777X program. Any delays certifying the jet would mean less cash flow in 2026.

Before those results, Wall Street expected 2026 free cash flow of about $5 billion. Now the Street’s consensus estimate is closer to $2.2 billion, which lines up with Malave’s comments. The size of the stock’s jump after Malave’s remarks shows how nervous investors had become about cash.

Endorsing Boeing’s goal to generate $10 billion in cash flow a year someday didn’t hurt either.

For most businesses, cash is king. That is true for Boeing, too.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com