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Investors in the troubled aerospace giant Boeing (BA+3.83%) received some good news on Friday when President Donald Trump awarded it a contract to build “a lot” of F-47 fighter jets for the U.S. Air Force — and possibly its allies.
Boeing stock rose more than 6.5% on the news, hitting $183.10 per share as of 1:50 p.m. New York time. The plane maker’s stock has risen 6.53% since the start of the year.
The crewed jets will share airspace with military drones and replace the Lockheed Martin-built (LMT-5.43%) F-22 Raptor, according to Reuters (TRI+0.04%), which pegged the initial price of the “Next Generation Air Dominance” project at $20 billion. After announcing the Boeing contract, Trump told reporters the U.S. has “given an order for a lot” of F-47 jets and declined to confirm their price.
The F-47 will be cheaper and “more adaptable to future threats,” said General David Allvin, the Air Force’s chief of staff.
Boeing has struggled to right itself ever since a 2024 door-plug blowout on a 737 Max 9 triggered a federally mandated production slowdown.
Boeing told investors in January that it lost $11.8 billion last year, during which stalled machinists’ strike talks further restricted the company’s output; meanwhile, issues with Boeing’s delayed Starliner spacecraft transformed an eight-day visit to the International Space Station into a nine-month spectacle. The family of Boeing whistleblower John Barnett hit Boeing with a wrongful death lawsuit on Wednesday.
Boeing’s stock climbed earlier in the week when chief financial officer Mark West said the company was making progress on manufacturing and downplayed the impact of tariffs on demand. However, West indicated on Wednesday that tariffs may ultimately limit the company’s access to plane parts.
Broadly, tariffs are expected to slow U.S. economic growth and drive up costs for consumers, but investors don’t seem to buy that a recession is inevitable.