Boeing Raises Guidance, Shares Take Aim at New High

The company raised its full-year EPS from a range of $6.20 to $6.40 to a new range of $6.50 to $6.65. Revenue guidance of $83 billion to $86 billion is unchanged. The consensus estimates currently call for EPS of $6.52 on revenues of $84.85 billion. Boeing expects to deliver 635 to 645 new commercial aircraft in the year at an operating margin above 10%. The number is consistent with previous guidance, but operating margin has been increased by 0.5%.

Boeing’s CEO said:

Despite the uncertainty of the U.S. defense market, overall our customer-focused business strategies and disciplined execution on our programs are producing the results we expect, and our strong year-to-date performance and positive outlook allow us to increase our 2013 guidance for earnings and operating cash flow.

Operating cash flow before voluntary pension contributions totaled $4.31 billion, up from $2.35 billion in the same period a year ago. Free cash flow totaled $2.32 billion, up from $1.17 billion a year ago.

The company’s order backlog at the end of the quarter totaled $415.1 billion, up from $410.0 billion at the end of the second quarter. Boeing’s net third-quarter orders totaled $27 billion, down from $40 billion in the second quarter.

Boeing shares were up about 4.1% in premarket trading Wednesday morning to $127.45, well above a 52-week range of $69.30 to $123.80. The consensus target price for the shares was around $130.10 before this report.