Who Wins the Two-Horse Race: Boeing or Airbus?

So, who won this horse-race: the rider who was thrown from saddle when his horse stopped suddenly and flung him over the finish line or the horse of the rider that tossed his jockey and crossed the finish line at the same time as the rider of the first horse?

Both Boeing and Airbus claim victory, but does one have a more valid claim? The answer probably depends on which company signs your paycheck or sends you a dividend payment every quarter. So let’s compare some numbers.

Airbus said Tuesday morning that it delivered 629 new passenger planes in 2014, up from 626 in 2016 and in line with the company’s estimate first announced in January of last year. Airbus took 1,321 net new orders for its single-aisle planes and 135 orders for its wide-bodies.

The company claims it commands more than 50% of the market for airplanes with more than 100 seats. Airbus delivered 490 of its A320-family jets in 2014, compared with deliveries of 485 Boeing 737s.

Just in case you missed Boeing’s announcement last week, the company put out a press release Tuesday morning as well claiming that it remains “the world’s largest airplane manufacturer for the third consecutive year.” Boeing did book 1,432 net new orders last year, just a shade below the Airbus total of 1,456. Boeing’s year-end backlog totaled 5,789 airplanes, well short of the Airbus total. Boeing also claimed industry leadership in wide-body sales, saying the company’s 747-8, 767, 777 and 787 accounted for more than 60% of all wide-body deliveries last year.

Airbus delivered its first A350 wide-body jet last year and lists an additional 779 orders for the plane. The company also shows orders for 165 of the A380 jumbo jets. The order backlog for the A320 family of planes totals 5,129, while the backlog for A330 jets totals 313.

ALSO READ: The Bullish and Bearish Case for Boeing in 2015