Al Root

Boeing stock was trading lower Monday despite a couple of things that typically would lift the shares.

The commercial jet maker was down 1.4% in premarket trading at $170.95, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 1% and 0.7%, respectively. Coming into Monday, Boeing shares have declined 2.1% this year.

What should be helping shares were new plane orders and a potential business sale.

Reuters reported Friday that Boeing was nearing a sale of its Jeppesen navigation business. Bloomberg reported that Boeing was thinking of selling the unit in November, which helped push the shares a little higher at the time.

"Among the companies noted as interested are TransDigm and Honeywell, plus a load of private-equity shops," wrote Vertical Research Partner analyst Rob Stallard on Monday. "The article says that Boeing had originally hoped to get $6 billion for the business, but the bids have come in higher than that" at about $8 billion. Boeing declined to comment on the report.

Any sale would help repair Boeing's balance sheet. From late 2018 through September 2024, the company added more than $40 billion in long-term debt. In October, it raised roughly $24 billion from the sale of equity and equity-linked securities.

Along with a potential sale, Boeing and aircraft lessor BOC Aviation announced Sunday an order for 50 737 MAX jets.

More orders are always good news for Boeing, but they don't always move the stock. Boeing is supposed to sell planes. What's more, Boeing has unfilled orders for almost 6,200 jets. Ramping up production is more important than new orders right now.

Still, stocks typically rise on good news. The best explanation for the stock's recent weakness is the market. Boeing shares dropped 3.2% on Friday, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.7%. Inflation data that lowered the odds of cuts to interest rates hit most shares.

Stock market futures were lower Monday as investors fretted over the economic impact of President Donald Trump's import tariffs that are due to be implemented on April 2.

Boeing can be hurt by tariffs in a couple of ways. They can increase costs for parts and materials. Boeing also is a big exporter from the U.S. and could be targeted by countries looking to retaliate.

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

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March 31, 2025 07:26 ET (11:26 GMT)

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