Former Boeing Company BA engineer-turned-whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, is out with fresh claims that the fuselage sections on 787 Dreamliners are improperly fastened and could break apart mid-flight, per The New York Times. Reddit's WallStreetBets is taking notice.
What Happened: Members of the r/WallStreetBets subreddit circled new whistleblower reports on Tuesday, focused on comments regarding safety and quality deficiencies at Boeing. The retail investing crowd reacted to Salehpour's claims in their signature sarcastic style.
"Jumping on the plane to get the parts to fit is a perfectly acceptable way to assemble an airframe. Also, I will not be flying on a Boeing from now until forever," remarked u/ride_electric_bike.
"I'm traveling on a 10 hour 787 flight next month. Wish me luck," u/OkContribution9835 added.
The Redditors were reacting to comments Salehpour said on a media call this week:
"I literally saw people jumping on the pieces of the airplane to get them to align,” the whistleblower reportedly said. “By jumping up and down, you're deforming parts so that the holes align temporarily … and that's not how you build an airplane.”
Other WallStreetBets redditors commented on Boeing's business fundamentals, rather than focusing on the details surrounding recent safety and quality concerns.
"The underlying value is there, but these fundamental cash flow issues go beyond just the negative news. In the next 3-6 months, I believe Boeing is a bad buy," said u/seasick__crocodile.
"My feeling is that investor confidence shouldn’t return until Boeing moves its headquarters back to Seattle, puts the engineers back on the factory floor and gets rid of the bureaucratic bloat that hides accountability," u/HighCirrus posted.
Related News: ‘Airplanes Are Not Like Ikea Furniture’: American Airlines Pilot Sounds Alarm On Boeing ‘Mess’
WSB Sees Value: On the other hand, some retail investors believe the bottom is in and see Boeing as a solid long-term investment.
"I'm slowly, SLOWLY beginning to build a position. Despite their commercial issues, they have huge military contracts that aren't going anywhere. If it holds October's low (176.25) – that will definitely show strength in the face of adversity," said u/watchme513.
"I haven’t seen any BA planes fall to the ground in the last two years, but people keep talking about quality as if loose rivets can’t happen in maintenance. The challenges are real. BA is a strong investment as sum of parts," said u/Agreeable_Ice_4774.
Overall, WallStreetBets seems to believe the stock still has some room to fall, but longer-term investors appear to be sticking with it due to the company’s large military and private contracts.
"Down to $174. I'll buy around $160," u/notapilot43 added.
BA Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, Boeing shares closed Wednesday down 1.96% at $174.62.
Image created using artificial intelligence via Dall-E
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