At the time, Boeing was grappling with the fallout from two devastating 737 Max crashes, which killed 346 people and led to a worldwide grounding of the aircraft. It soon emerged that Boeing had spent a staggering $43 billion on stock buybacks between 2013 and 2019 – more than its total profits during that period – while allegedly skimping on safety and ignoring design flaws.
Fast forward to 2024, and Boeing’s woes have only multiplied. The 737 Max remains a reputational and financial albatross, with orders still lagging rival Airbus. Quality control issues have plagued other key programs like the 787 Dreamliner, leading to delivery delays and costly rework. And the company’s space ambitions have been rocked by the Starliner capsule’s persistent technical problems.
These ongoing struggles underscore just how damaging Boeing’s obsession with stock buybacks has been. By prioritizing the wealth of short-term traders (as opposed to investors) over long-term investments in innovation, safety, and quality, the aerospace giant has jeopardized its market dominance and, more importantly, the trust of the flying public.