Photo via boeing.com
Boeing expects positive free cash flow for full-year 2026, its first positive year in several years, and is working from a backlog of $745 billion.
Investors want firm numbers from Boeing, and the company has declined to give hard metrics. Kelly Ortberg, CEO of Boeing, told CNBC's Phil LeBeau and the Squawk on the Street anchors in an exclusive interview that the range of outcomes is now shrinking, and that cash flow will grow from here.
"We're going to have positive cash flow for this 2026, which is the first time in several years... that cadence will continue to grow year on year, and we'll get to that $10 billion target and beyond." — Kelly Ortberg
Kelly's third quarter brought a revenue beat, better-than-expected free cash flow and no new charges on previously troubled defense programs. Before the interview, Jim Cramer and David Faber spent the opening of the hour on the $63 billion financing deal for Anthropic's chips.
The full segment is covered here so you can skip it. 42 minutes of audio, 9 minutes of reading.
Here are the 9 takeaways that matter.
Squawk on the Street · Oct 27, 2026 · 42m · 33m saved
With Kelly Ortberg, CEO of Boeing
Key Takeaways
Boeing will post positive free cash flow in 2026 for the first time in several years, Kelly said, on the way to a $10B annual target
Boeing's backlog stands at $745B, and most of it is replacement demand for less fuel-efficient planes
The 737 MAX production ramp is taking longer than expected, and Kelly will not trade quality for speed
Four lenders will provide $63B to buy Broadcom chips and lease them to Anthropic, a deal Jim Cramer finds hard to cheer
Broadcom-linked debt pays 8.5–9%, which led David Faber to ask why anyone would buy the stock instead
Anthropic's S-1 shows about $321.4B of signed leases that have not yet started
1. A $63B Chip Lease Deal
Carl Quintanilla, one of the CNBC anchors on the New York Stock Exchange floor, opened the hour with the previous day's news, a day after Anthropic's IPO filing became public. Bank of America, Blackstone, Citi and Morgan Stanley will provide $63 billion to buy AI chips from Broadcom and lease them to Anthropic.
"Our roadmap begins with a $63 billion AI debt deal. Broadcom working with banks and Blackstone to finance its AI infrastructure plans with Anthropic." — Carl Quintanilla
Jim Cramer called Broadcom CEO Hock Tan a strong balance sheet and a tough negotiator who got "a good deal for everybody involved."
Jim Cramer said he finds it hard to celebrate a deal that needed banks recruited just to pay for chips
"I find it a little harder to cheer... aren't we supposed to cheer companies that are making fortunes, buying back stock and doing terrific, instead of cheering because they made that deal? Who's next? Can anyone else possibly have the balance sheet of Hock E. Tan to do the next deal?" — Jim Cramer
The financing runs through a special-purpose vehicle, a separate entity set up to hold the chips. Jim argued the market should cheer companies that generate their own cash and buy back stock instead.
