Airbus Jet Orders Hit Record As Boeing Plagued With Reputation Crisis Over Max Woes

While Boeing deals with endless 737 Max jet problems, one which a Reuters report said in 2020 was an aircraft "designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys"... 

As a reminder, the 737 Max was "designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys".https://t.co/Z5rt2LoI3e

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 6, 2024

And this week, Elon Musk said: "Do you want to fly in an airplane where they prioritized DEI hiring over your safety? That is actually happening." 

Do you want to fly in an airplane where they prioritized DEI hiring over your safety? That is actually happening. https://t.co/FcTyzZD0uW

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 10, 2024

Competitor Airbus, now the world's largest plane maker, booked 2,094 net jet orders last year (a new record high) and doubled the number of net orders in 2022. 

Airbus overtook Boeing in jet orders following the two crashes of Max jets, the first in October 2018 and the second in March 2019, which combined, killed 346 people. We noted shortly after the Max crashes, Boeing faced a reputation crisis as airlines ditched Max orders for A320 Neo.  

Shares of Airbus in Paris are up 2.5% on Friday, propelling the stock to new record highs. Meanwhile, shares of Boeing have been floundering for several years after countless Max jet problems. 

Here's what Wall Street analysts (courtesy of Bloomberg) are saying about Airbus: 

Deutsche Bank (Christophe Menard, buy, PT €152)

• Beat on deliveries potentially signals an improvement in the supply chain and bodes well for deliveries in 2024
• Record order intake is "more striking" and bodes well for free cashflow generation in 2H thanks to higher-than-expected prepayments
• Airbus is likely to beat its FY23 Ebit and free cashflow guidance when it reports on Feb. 15

Citi (Charles Armitage, buy)

• Notes Airbus delivered 15 more planes than guided during the year; makes rough estimate that this could provide €225m tailwind to full year profit guidance 
•  Airbus has a backlog of 8,593 aircraft; equivalent to 11.7 years based on 2023 delivery rate, but notes Airbus is ramping- up production

William Blair (Louie DiPalma) 

• Airbus delivered 207 more aircraft in 2023 than US rival Boeing, and secured significantly more orders; adds Airbus will likely beat Boeing on orders in January in wake of the Alaska Airlines incident

Airlines are flocking to Airbus planes while Boeing battles a reputation crisis over quality control issues of its 737 Max.