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Boeing (BA) Secures Navy Contract to Support P-8A Aircraft

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The Boeing Company (BA - Free Report) recently clinched a contract involving the P-8A aircraft. The award has been offered by the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD.

Details of the Deal

Valued at $23.7 million, the contract is projected to be completed by September 2024. Per the terms of the deal, Boeing will offer engineering support, logistics management, product support analysis and integration, maintenance planning, technical data, and support equipment maintenance for the P-8A aircraft.

The contract will serve the U.S. Navy and the governments of Australia, Norway and the United Kingdom. A major portion of the work related to this deal will be carried out in Jacksonville, FL and Whidbey Island, WA.

What’s Favoring Boeing?

Boeing, one of the major players in the defense business, stands out among its peers by virtue of its broadly diversified programs, strong order bookings and a solid backlog. Furthermore, the company's expertise lies in a wide variety of aircraft components, repairs and modification-related programs.

Notably, its Defense, Space & Security segment’s portfolio has fixed-wing military aircraft, including F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, F-15 programs, P-8 programs, KC-46A Tanker and T-7A Red Hawk. Boeing's combat-proven aerospace programs and associated services, along with the rapidly growing need for military aircraft due to heightened geopolitical uncertainties worldwide, have resulted in a solid inflow of orders from the Pentagon. The latest contract win is an example of that. Such order flows, in turn, should boost Boeing’s top line.

Growth Prospects

With rising security threats across the globe, emerging economies like South America, the Asia Pacific and the Middle East are spending a lot on enhancing their defense arsenals. Meanwhile, other nations like Europe and the United States have already been leading the defense market. With the United States being the largest worldwide weapons exporter, the nation has been getting ample contracts for supplying its defense products. Boeing, the largest aircraft manufacturer in the United States, thus enjoys a dominant position in the combat aircraft market.

Per a report from the Mordor Intelligence firm, the global fighter aircraft market is expected to witness a CAGR of 3.7% during 2023-2028, with North America constituting the largest share of this market. Such growth can be attributed to a rise in global threats and geopolitical instabilities and increased defense spending. These projections should benefit Boeing, along with other U.S.-based combat jet manufacturers like Northrop Grumman (NOC - Free Report) , Lockheed Martin (LMT - Free Report) and Textron (TXT - Free Report) .

Since its inception, Northrop Grumman has been a pioneer in the development of manned combat aircraft. It also has a tradition of providing technological leadership in all aspects of military aviation and aircraft, such as manned, unmanned, targeting, surveillance and aircraft self-protection systems that enable warfighters to accomplish missions anytime and anywhere.

Northrop Grumman has a long-term earnings growth rate of 4.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NOC’s 2023 sales implies a 5.6% improvement from the year-ago reported figure.

Lockheed’s Aeronautics business segment is engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, sustainment, support and upgrade of advanced military aircraft, combat and air mobility aircraft, unmanned air vehicles and related technologies. Its major programs include F-35, C-130 Hercules, F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-22 Raptor jets.

Lockheed boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 6.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LMT’s 2023 sales implies a 1% improvement from the previous year’s reported number.

Textron’s business unit, Textron Aviation Defense designs, builds and supports versatile and globally-known military aircraft, preferred for training and attack missions. Some of its renowned products include Beechcraft T-6C trainer and AT-6 Wolverine.

Textron boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 11.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TXT’s 2023 sales implies a 7.7% improvement year over year.

Price Movement

Shares of Boeing have risen 39.5% in the past year against the industry’s 7.4% decline.

Zacks Investment Research
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Zacks Rank

Boeing currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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