Boeing hit with big Q4 loss but surprises with positive cash flow

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• Boeing (NYSE:BA) +2% pre-market despite posting a much wider than expected Q4 loss while also missing revenue estimates, but cash flow came in surprisingly positive.
• Boeing's Q4 net loss fell by half to $4.14B from $8.42B in the prior-year period, but it took a $3.5B charge to cover additional delays in 787 jetliner deliveries and compensation for airlines that are still waiting to get their planes.
• The company also said problems with the 787 will add $2B in unusual production costs, double the previous forecast.
• Q4 revenues fell 3.3% Y/Y and 3.2% Q/Q to a below-consensus $14.79B.
• Q4 sales by segment: Defense, Space and Security -14% Y/Y to $5.86B, a wide miss against $6.83B analyst consensus; Commercial Airplanes +0.5% to $4.75B, also well below $5.58B consensus; Global Services +15% to $4.29B, roughly in-line compared to $4.18B consensus.
• Q4 operating cash flow swung to positive $716M from negative $4B in the year-ago quarter, while Wall Street was looking for negative $429M; free cash flow also swung to positive $494M from negative $4.27B a year earlier.
• Total company backlog at the end of Q4 was $377B, +3.9% Y//Y.
• For the full year, Boeing lost $4.29B, its third annual loss in a row, but the company lost $11.94B in 2020.
• "2021 was a rebuilding year for us as we overcame hurdles and reached key milestones across our commercial, defense and services portfolios," CEO David Calhoun said.
• Boeing previously reported 99 total commercial airplane deliveries in Q4, lifting aircraft deliveries for the full year to 340.