Boeing

Boeing is an American aerospace company that designs and builds commercial airplanes, defense and space systems and aviation services. It was founded in Seattle in 1916 by William Boeing, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, and reported 600 commercial airplane deliveries and revenue of $89.5 billion for 2025.

History of Boeing

William Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt completed the B and W plane in Seattle in 1916. Boeing incorporated Pacific Aero Products Company on July 15, 1916, and the company was renamed the Boeing Airplane Company the next year.

In March 1919 Boeing and the pilot Eddie Hubbard flew the first U.S. international airmail flight, from Vancouver to Seattle. The Model 40, which first flew in July 1925, carried mail and became Boeing’s first passenger plane. The Model 299, which became the B-17 bomber, first flew in July 1935, and workers in Wichita rushed the first 175 B-29 bombers into combat in 1944.

In 1934 the government ordered the break-up of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation, and Bill Boeing cut all ties to the company. The B-47 bomber first flew in 1947, and the 367-80 prototype of the jet airliner family followed in 1954. The 707 made its first flight on December 20, 1957, and the company formally became The Boeing Company in 1961.

Boeing announced plans to build the 747 in April 1966, and the first jumbo jet flew on February 9, 1969. The 767 first flew in September 1981 and the 777 in June 1994. The 737 Next Generation first flew in February 1997.

Boeing announced plans to buy McDonnell Douglas in December 1996, and the deal became official on August 1, 1997. In March 2001 the company announced that it would move its headquarters out of Seattle to Chicago, and its 2025 annual filing lists a headquarters at 929 Long Bridge Drive in Arlington, Virginia.

The 787 first flew on December 15, 2009. Boeing said in October 2009 that its second 787 line would be in South Carolina, and in 2016 it opened a $1.2 billion addition in Everett, Washington, for 777X wings. The 737 MAX first flew on January 29, 2016.

Products and services of Boeing

Boeing reports three segments. Commercial Airplanes builds jetliners for airlines and leasing companies, Defense, Space and Security serves military and government customers, and Global Services provides support for aircraft in operation. The company calls them BCA, BDS and BGS.

In 2025 the company delivered 600 commercial airplanes, its highest annual output since 2018, and booked orders for 1,173 aircraft. A delivery is the handover of a finished aircraft to a customer, while an order is a commitment to buy one in the future. Orders were about twice deliveries, by simple division.

Boeing increased monthly production of the 737 MAX in 2025 and received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. aviation regulator, to raise its output for the first time since early 2024. Its filing says it plans to reach 47 airplanes a month in 2026. The company also began a $1 billion expansion of its 787 Dreamliner site in North Charleston, South Carolina, to raise production rates.

The company noted a $4.9 billion charge on the delayed 777X program in the third quarter of 2025 and a $600 million charge on the KC-46 tanker program in the fourth quarter. It targeted certification of the 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10 in 2026 and of the 777X in 2027.

Corporate structure and operations

Boeing had about 182,000 employees on December 31, 2025, and 14 percent of them worked outside the United States. Non-U.S. customers, including foreign military sales, accounted for 46 percent of 2025 revenue, and U.S. government contracts accounted for 35 percent.

Revenue for 2025 was $89.5 billion, up 34 percent from $66.5 billion in 2024, according to reports on the company’s January 2026 results. Boeing reported a profit of about $2 billion for the year, compared with a loss of $11.8 billion in 2024. Fourth-quarter net income of $8.2 billion came mostly from the sale of Jeppesen.

On October 31, 2025, Boeing sold parts of its Digital Aviation Solutions business for $10.55 billion in cash. On December 8, 2025, it closed its purchase of the aircraft parts maker Spirit AeroSystems through an exchange of about $4.7 billion in Boeing shares. Spirit has about 15,000 employees, and the deal brings more of the supply chain for fuselages and other structures under Boeing’s control.

Total debt was $54.1 billion on December 31, 2025.

Impact of Boeing

Boeing’s jet airliners have shaped commercial aviation since the 707 first flew in 1957, and the 747 became the first jumbo jet in 1969. The company’s military aircraft, from the B-17 to the B-47, also made it a major defense supplier.

Its main rival in large passenger jets is Airbus, which delivered 793 commercial aircraft in 2025 compared with Boeing’s 600. The two counts come from each company’s own reporting.

Boeing’s 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas combined two large American aircraft makers. Defense and space work give it a second large business alongside the airplane line.

Criticism and controversies

On January 5, 2024, a door plug on a 737-9 failed in flight. The FAA investigated Boeing’s quality control system for the 737 and increased its oversight. Boeing slowed production and delayed planned rate increases. The 2025 filing states that the 737 program may increase production rates only with the agency’s concurrence.

The 737 MAX was also the subject of a criminal case over two crashes, in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019, that killed 346 people. Prosecutors alleged that Boeing misled U.S. regulators about a flight-control system. A 2024 plea deal would have required a guilty plea to a fraud conspiracy charge, a payment of up to $487.2 million and three years of independent oversight, and a judge rejected it in December 2024.

In May 2025 the Justice Department reached an agreement in principle that let Boeing avoid prosecution. The terms include a $243.6 million fine, a $444.5 million fund for crash victims and more than $455 million for compliance, safety and quality programs. They do not require a guilty plea or an independent monitor, and the deal would cancel a June 23 trial date.

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 4, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue