GE Aerospace Stock Inches Higher. It Is Cleared to Resume Sales to China.

Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd. can buy GE Aerospace engines again, according to a report. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

GE Aerospace can ship its engines to China again. That isn’t giving the stock a big boost—yet.

Over the weekend, the U.S. government allowed the maker of commercial jet engines to resume shipments to China’s airplane maker Comac. A pause was reported in May amid rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

The Comac C919 is about the size of a Boeing 737 and is powered by CFM Leap engines. CFM is the 50/50 engine-making joint venture between GE Aerospace and France’s Safran.

GE Aerospace stock rose 0.9% to 248.65 on Monday, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% and 0.9%, respectively.

The restart might have only been a small positive because Comac is relatively small. Air China, China Southern Airlines, and China Eastern Airlines fly about 1,700 Boeing and Airbus jets combined. They fly about 20 Comac C919 jets. What is more, the three airlines have about 60 orders on the books for more Boeing and Airbus jets and orders for about five more C919s.

There is also more tariff news to come. Sunday evening, President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that tariff letters and deals with “various countries from around the world” will be delivered starting at noon on Monday. The president began posting letters to countries on Truth Social in the early afternoon. Letters to India, China, and other significant trading partners, however, weren’t included in the initial batch.

Still, improving trade relations between the world’s two largest economies is a positive. Aerospace and AI-chip technologies are two things the U.S. can leverage against China. In the other direction, investors have been worried that export restrictions on rare earth materials from China could disrupt global supply chains. Rare earths are used to make magnets for electric motors, which are found in everything from cars to fighter jets, among other applications.

Looking ahead, investors are waiting for GE to update its long-term outlook on July 17, when it releases second-quarter numbers. Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu believes 2028 operating profit guidance will be at least $11 billion. GE guided to $10 billion in 2028 operating profit in early 2024. Investors appreciate a bump, but expectations are running high. The analyst consensus figure is $11.6 billion, according to FactSet.

Coming into Monday trading, GE Aerospace stock was up more than 50% over the past 12 months. Earnings estimates have been rising as the outlook for commercial aerospace continues to be robust. Wall Street expects 2026 earnings per share of about $6.50, according to FactSet, up from closer to $6 a year ago.

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