The Boeing Company (BA), Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT): Which Airline Stock Can Make You Really Rich?

On Monday, Le Bourget (The Paris Airshow) kicked off with the likes of The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) and European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), which brought their aces to please the crowds and rack up deals worth billions. EADS is the parent company of Airbus, Astrium, Cassidian and Eurocopter. By the end of this event, expect the aerospace industry to be worth significantly more than the week before; furthermore, expect stock prices of these companies to take off as well. In this article I will analyze the best aircraft manufacturing stocks for my readers. Along with giving a commercial comparison, the vast military-related product range of EADS compels me to include Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) in this article to make it a fairer analysis.

At the Paris Airshow, fierce competition exists between Boeing’s Dreamliner and the latest introduction by Airbus – the A350. The A350 took its first flight last week and is expected to fly at the airshow too. For the first time, The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA)’s carbon-fiber Dreamliner is being given competition in the same category. The Airbus A350 is a long-range, mid-size wide body aircraft made out of carbon-fiber, just like its American counterpart. Just like the Dreamliner, the A350 is said to be 25% more efficient – but unlike the Dreamliner, Airbus hopes that its latest jewel will not have embarrassing troubles and failed promises. The Dreamliner entered service three years late and, more recently, was grounded due to short-circuiting faults with its battery. All this has caused a negative perception about Boeing as a brand – and with the A350 waiting in the wings, this has provided the perfect opportunity for Airbus to pounce.

On day one alone, Airbus secured orders worth $18.16 billion for its aircraft, while The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) languished far behind at $6.06 billion. EADS as a whole is doing very well thanks to its military operations, even though the company recently backed off its goal of generation $10 billion in non-Airbus revenues from the U.S market by 2020. In Q1 2013, more than 75% of the company’s revenue came from Airbus sales.