Can Impressive Order Growth Drive Boeing's Q4 Earnings?

The Boeing Co. BA is set to release fourth-quarter and full-year 2017 results before the opening bell on Jan 31.

The company's results in the to-be-reported quarter are anticipated to be primarily driven by constant contract wins along with higher jet deliveries. Meanwhile a solid cash generating capability also boosts this aerospace giant's growth.

Let's take a detailed look at the factors influencing Boeing's quarterly results.

Slew of Contract Wins — Key Catalyst

Being largest aircraft manufacturer and one of the largest aerospace and defense contractors in the United States, Boeing enjoys a solid inflow of contracts from both Pentagon as well as foreign allies, courtesy its varied product offerings.

Markedly, the company received a number of big orders for its commercial jets in the fourth quarter including a $27-billion order from flydubai for 225 737 MAX jets and an $11-billion contract from Avolon for 75 737-MAX airplanes. Again, it sealed a deal worth $15.1 billion for delivering 40 787-10 Dreamliners to Emirates.

Among the defense contracts won in the fourth quarter, the significant ones include a $6-billion deal for procuring 36 F-15QA aircraft for the Qatar Emiri Air Force. Boeing also clinched a contract worth $1.2-billion modification contract for manufacturing and delivering 10 full-rate production P-8A aircraft. The company won a contract worth $240 million for the Royal Saudi Air Force airborne warning and control system (AWACS) modernization program phase 1.

Thus, it goes without saying that such steady inflow of contract wins will surely boost Boeing's quarterly sales. Evidently, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company's fourth-quarter sales is pegged at $24.83 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 6.6%.

Such improving top line indicates at solid bottom-line growth for the company. In line with this, the consensus estimate for the company's fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at $2.91 per share, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 17.8%.

Impressive Q4 Orders & Deliveries

Boeing's fourth-quarter deliveries showed a 12.8% improvement year over year in commercial shipments. Also, defense shipments improved 7% than the year-ago figure. Higher demand for the 737 and 767 jets primarily drove the year-over-year improvement in commercial deliveries. In the last quarter, the company delivered 209 airplanes.

In the defense and space business, Boeing's deliveries totaled 43 in the fourth quarter compared with 40 in the year-ago quarter.

Boeing Company (The) Price and EPS Surprise

Boeing Company (The) Price and EPS Surprise | Boeing Company (The) Quote

Dividend Hike: A Strong Positive

Boeing's strong cash generating capability provides the company with financial flexibility, which in turn allows it to hike dividend significantly and repurchase shares, thereby making the stock a valuable choice for investors. Notably, its cash and investments in marketable securities was $10.03 billion at the end of the third quarter. During the first nine months of 2017, Boeing paid $2.58 billion in dividends and repurchased 39.5 million shares for $7.5 billion.

Last month, the company increased its quarterly dividend by 20.4%. Impressively, Boeing has increased its dividend per share by more than 250% over the last five years. Along with the dividend hike, the company authorized a new stock repurchase plan of $18 billion, which replaces the existing share-buyback program.

The raised dividend and the new buyback authorization indicate Boeing's optimism on solid cash inflow that is further supported by its large and diverse order backlog. We expect the company's yet-to-be reported results to reflect huge backlog for its jets, both defense and commercial.