Specialist
Former senior executive at The Boeing Co
Agenda
- Boeing's (NYSE: BA) aerospace segment overview and strategic focus
- Supply and demand dynamics – supplier relationships and inventory level outlook
- Financial and operational assessment, including growth opportunities
- 2021 outlook – commercial aviation and technological advancements
Questions
1.
What is your perspective on the commercial aerospace and defence markets and related evolving secular trends? How are these aerospace segments changing? Where are the similarities between larger companies in each segment?
2.
What are your expectations for the commercial aerospace segment? How might companies such as Boeing interact with the airlines and react across the recovery and in a few years?
3.
How would you assess Boeing’s commercial aerospace positioning across its platforms? Where do you expect the company to have the most growth potential and success, aside from the MAX? What is your outlook for its potential NMA [new mid-size aircraft] programme? Is it realistic for the near future, given the delays this year?
4.
You outlined some of the pandemic’s impacts, including significant inventory absorption and how that might affect the supplier base in the coming years. Boeing has also had issues with its 737 Max. How has the process of getting the 737 Max back to the sky reallocated the company’s resources? Have any areas been underinvested in as a result, perhaps relating to the Dreamliner production delays and the 777X developmental delays?
5.
How should we assess the pricing concessions Boeing is giving on some new aircraft orders? How long might it be before prices recover? Boeing has had an uptick in orders recently, which is already equivalent to 47% of the company’s total gross orders in 2020 – does this signal a sustainable recovery? Flair Airlines most recently announced a Boeing order, but do you think the Southwest order will be necessary for Boeing to win for the future of its 737 Max?
6.
How do you think the GE Capital Aviation-AerCap merger will impact Boeing and other OEMs? How will it affect their pricing flexibility and leverage as the commercial environment is increasingly challenged?
7.
Can you share a recovery timeline for pricing concessions? What limits can some OEMs go to, especially as pressure will increase due to the GE-AerCap merger?
8.
Can you expand on Boeing’s USD 5.25bn revolving credit agreement, which was initially reported to be around USD 4bn? Do you believe this was the smartest financing strategy for the company? What other viable financing options might it have as it continues attempts to offset commercial headwinds?
9.
How might Boeing need to rely on its defence capabilities in the short term? How are spending priorities shifting, given some major changes in the defence industry lately? How is Boeing’s defence positioning beneficial or harmful? What opportunities do you think there are in that segment?
10.
Do you anticipate consolidation or other M&A activity in the market? You mentioned Boeing’s difficult financial position. Might Boeing acquire to reintegrate some components in-house – a potential growth opportunity – given the challenges of sharing the burden with some of its supply chain and supplier base?
11.
What key questions should be asked about Boeing over the next 12-18 months, when looking at its projections, as well as any metrics worth monitoring in the near future?
12.
Is there anything else you would like to add or highlight?
