Boeing


The Boeing Company is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support services. Boeing is among the largest global aerospace manufacturers; it is the second-largest defense contractor in the world based on 2018 revenue, and is the largest exporter in the United States by dollar value. Boeing stock is included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Boeing is incorporated in Delaware.
Boeing was founded by William Boeing in Seattle, Washington on July 15, 1916. The present corporation is the result of the merger of Boeing with McDonnell Douglas on August 1, 1997. Then chairman and CEO of Boeing, Philip M. Condit, assumed those roles in the combined company, while Harry Stonecipher, former CEO of McDonnell Douglas, became president and COO.
The Boeing Company has its corporate headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. Boeing is organized into five primary divisions: Boeing Commercial Airplanes ; Boeing Defense, Space & Security ; Engineering, Operations & Technology; Boeing Capital; and Boeing Shared Services Group. In 2017, Boeing recorded 93.3billion in sales, ranked 24th on the Fortune magazine "Fortune 500" list, ranked 64th on the "Fortune Global 500" list, and ranked 19th on the "World's Most Admired Companies" list. In 2019, Boeing's global reputation, commercial business, and financial rating suffered after the 737 MAX was grounded worldwide following two fatal crashes in late 2018 and early 2019.
The firm has also been criticized for supplying and profiting from wars, including the war in Yemen where its missiles were found to be used for indiscriminate attacks, killing many civilians.

History

The Boeing Company was started in 1916, when American lumber industrialist William E. Boeing founded Aero Products Company in Seattle, Washington. Shortly before doing so, he and Conrad Westervelt created the "B&W" seaplane. In 1917, the organization was renamed Boeing Airplane Company, with William Boeing forming Boeing Airplane & Transport Corporation in 1928. In 1929, the company was renamed United Aircraft and Transport Corporation, followed by the acquisition of several aircraft makers such as Avion, Chance Vought, Sikorsky Aviation, Stearman Aircraft, Pratt & Whitney, and Hamilton Metalplane.
In 1931, the group merged its four smaller airlines into United Airlines. In 1934, the manufacture of aircraft was required to be separate from air transportation. Therefore, Boeing Airplane Company became one of three major groups to arise from dissolution of United Aircraft and Transport; the other two entities were United Aircraft and United Airlines.
In 1960, the company bought Vertol Corporation, which at the time, was the biggest independent fabricator of helicopters. During the 1960s and 1970s, the company diversified into industries such as outer space travel, marine craft, agriculture, energy production and transit systems.
In 1995, Boeing partnered with Russian, Ukrainian and Anglo-Norwegian organizations to create Sea Launch, a company providing commercial launch services sending satellites to geostationary orbit from floating platforms. In 2000, Boeing acquired the satellite segment of Hughes Electronics.
Corporate headquarters were moved from Seattle to Chicago in 2001.
After two fatal crashes of the Boeing 737 MAX narrow-body passenger airplanes in 2018 and 2019, aviation regulators and airlines around the world grounded all 737 MAX airliners. A total of 387 aircraft were grounded. Boeing's reputation, business, and financial rating has suffered after these groundings, questioning Boeing's strategy, governance, and focus on profits and cost efficiency. The Wall Street Journal reported on May 5, 2019, that Boeing had known of the issue with the system for "about a year" before the crash in Indonesia. In December 2019, Boeing announced it will suspend 737 MAX production from January 2020. Soon after, on December 23, then CEO Dennis Muilenburg resigned and was replaced by David Calhoun.
In May 2020, the company cut 12,000 jobs due to the drop in air travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, Boeing reported a loss of $2.4 billion as a result of the pandemic and the grounding of its 737 MAX aircraft. As a result of the profit loss, the company announced that it is planning to do more job and production cuts.

Divisions

The corporation's three main divisions are Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Boeing Defense, Space & Security, and Boeing Global Services.
In 2006, the UCLA Center for Environmental Risk Reduction released a study showing that Boeing's Santa Susana Field Laboratory, a site that was a former Rocketdyne test and development site in the Simi Hills of eastern Ventura County in Southern California, had been contaminated by Rocketdyne with toxic and radioactive waste. Boeing agreed to a cleanup agreement with the EPA in 2017. Clean up studies and lawsuits are in progress.

Jet biofuels

The airline industry is responsible for about 11% of greenhouse gases emitted by the U.S. transportation sector. Aviation's share of the greenhouse gas emissions was poised to grow, as air travel increases and ground vehicles use more alternative fuels like ethanol and biodiesel. Boeing estimates that biofuels could reduce flight-related greenhouse-gas emissions by 60 to 80%. The solution blends algae fuels with existing jet fuel.
Boeing executives said the company was collaborating with Brazilian biofuels maker Tecbio, Aquaflow Bionomic of New Zealand, and other fuel developers around the world. As of 2007, Boeing had tested six fuels from these companies, and expected to test 20 fuels "by the time we're done evaluating them". Boeing also joined other aviation-related members in the Algal Biomass Organization in June 2008.
Air New Zealand and Boeing are researching the jatropha plant to see if it is a sustainable alternative to conventional fuel. A two-hour test flight using a 50–50 mixture of the new biofuel with Jet A-1 in a Rolls Royce RB-211 engine of a 747-400 was completed on December 30, 2008. The engine was then removed to be studied to identify any differences between the Jatropha blend and regular Jet A1. No effects on performances were found.
On August 31, 2010, Boeing worked with the U.S. Air Force to test the Boeing C-17 running on 50% JP-8, 25% Hydro-treated Renewable Jet fuel and 25% of a Fischer–Tropsch fuel with successful results.

Electric propulsion

For NASA's N+3 future airliner program, Boeing has determined that hybrid electric engine technology is by far the best choice for its subsonic design. Hybrid electric propulsion has the potential to shorten takeoff distance and reduce noise.

Political contributions, federal contracts, advocacy

In 2008 and 2009, Boeing was second on the list of Top 100 US Federal Contractors, with contracts totaling 22 billion and 23 billion respectively. Since 1995, the company has agreed to pay 1.6 billion to settle 39 instances of misconduct, including 615 million in 2006 in relation to illegal hiring of government officials and improper use of proprietary information.
Boeing secured the highest ever tax breaks at the state level in 2013.
Boeing's spent 16.9 million on lobbying expenditures in 2009. In the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama "was by far the biggest recipient of campaign contributions from Boeing employees and executives, hauling in 197,000 – five times as much as John McCain, and more than the top eight Republicans combined".
Boeing has a corporate citizenship program centered on charitable contributions in five areas: education, health, human services, environment, the arts, culture, and civic engagement. In 2011, Boeing spent 147.3 million in these areas through charitable grants and business sponsorships. In February 2012, Boeing Global Corporate Citizenship partnered with the Insight Labs to develop a new model for foundations to more effectively lead the sectors they serve.
The company is a member of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, a Washington D.C.-based coalition of more than 400 major companies and NGOs that advocate a larger International Affairs Budget, which funds American diplomatic and development efforts abroad. A series of U.S. diplomatic cables show how U.S. diplomats and senior politicians intervene on behalf of Boeing to help boost the company's sales.
In 2007 and 2008, the company benefited from over 10 billion of long-term loan guarantees, helping finance the purchase of their commercial aircraft in countries including Brazil, Canada, Ireland, and the United Arab Emirates, from the Export-Import Bank of the United States, some 65% of the total loan guarantees the bank made in the period.
In December 2011, the non-partisan organization Public Campaign criticized Boeing for spending 52.29 million on lobbying and not paying taxes during 2008–2010, instead getting 178 million in tax rebates, despite making a profit of 9.7 billion, laying off 14,862 workers since 2008, and increasing executive pay by 31% to 41.9 million in 2010 for its top five executives.

Financials

For the fiscal year 2017, Boeing reported earnings of 8.191billion, with an annual revenue of 93.392billion, a 1.25% decline over the previous fiscal cycle. Boeing's shares traded at over $209 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at over 206.6billion.
YearRevenue
in million US$		Net income
in mil. US$		Price per Share
in US$		Employees
200553,6212,57245.42
200661,5302,21559.20
200766,3874,07471.05
200860,9092,67250.76
200968,2811,31235.73
201064,3063,29853.89
201168,7354,00958.20
201281,6983,90062.65
201386,6234,57890.39168,400
201490,7625,440114.72165,500
201596,1145,172131.43161,400
201694,5714,892125.66150,500
201793,3928,191209.85140,800
2018101,12710,460319.05153,000
201976,559325.76

Between 2010 and 2018, Boeing increased its operating cash flow from $3 to $15.3billion, sustaining its share price, by negotiating advance payments from customers and delaying payments to its suppliers. This strategy is sustainable only as long as orders are good and delivery rates are increasing.
From 2013 to 2019, Boeing spent over $60 billion on dividends and stock buybacks, twice as much as the development costs of the 787.

Employment numbers

The company's employment totals are listed below.
GroupEmployees
Boeing Commercial Airplanes 64,529
Boeing Defense, Space & Security 33,757
Global Services24,985
Corporate37,862
Total Company161,133

LocationEmployees
Alabama3,062
Arizona4,655
California13,441
Missouri15,740
Oklahoma3,392
Pennsylvania4,633
South Carolina6,869
Texas4,768
Washington71,829
Other locations32,744
Total Company161,133

Approximately 1.5% of Boeing employees are in the Technical Fellowship program, a program through which Boeing's top engineers and scientists set technical direction for the company. The average salary at Boeing is $76,784, reported by former employees.

Corporate governance

Board of directors

Chairman of the board

President

Notes
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