Boeing says it can’t make money with fixed-price contracts

Enlarge / Starliner touches down in December 2019 for the first time. (credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Boeing released its third-quarter results on Wednesday, and there were promising numbers showing increasing revenues and narrowing losses as the multinational corporation continues its economic recovery.

However, amid these improving results, Boeing's financials continued to be dragged down by its Defense, Space & Security division. This division, which includes missile production for the military and space activities such as satellites and the Starliner spacecraft, lost $1.7 billion during the first three quarters of this year.

In a conference call with analysts on Wednesday, Boeing's chief executive, David Calhoun, and chief financial officer, Brian West, expressed disappointment in these results from the defense and space division. They reiterated their goal of returning the company's defense and space businesses to profitability by the 2025 to 2026 period.