Boeing’s Deliveries are at an 8-Year High. Is its Production Recovery Taking Hold?

Boeing (NYSE:BA) delivered fewer aircraft in August than it did a year earlier, but that headline misses the more interesting number for investors. Through the first eight months of 2026, the planemaker handed over 418 aircraft, its highest total for the period since 2018.

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That makes August worth looking at in the context of Boeing’s broader production recovery rather than as a single weak month. The company delivered 51 jets during August, down slightly from July and from 57 a year earlier. Much of that decline came from fewer 787 Dreamliner handovers, even as deliveries of the 737 MAX remained strong.

Bull Case

Boeing’s year-to-date delivery numbers show how far aircraft handovers have recovered. The company delivered 418 aircraft through August, the most since 2018, when it delivered 481 jets during the same eight-month period. The 737 MAX accounted for most of Boeing’s August activity. The company delivered 41 MAX aircraft during the month, including nine to Southwest Airlines, eight to United Airlines and five to aircraft lessor AerCap.

The order book also continued to grow. Boeing booked 15 new orders during August, consisting of two 737 MAX aircraft and 13 787s, all for unidentified customers. There were no cancellations during the month. Through August, Boeing had booked 453 orders in 2026 after adjusting for cancellations.

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The 787 remains particularly important to Boeing’s plans. Although only four Dreamliners were delivered in August, the company had handed over 54 through the first eight months of the year, and a Boeing spokesperson said the company still expects to deliver between 90 and 100 Dreamliners by year-end. For investors, that target gives the remainder of 2026 a clear operational benchmark to follow.

Bear Case

August also showed that Boeing’s recovery has not translated into consistently higher deliveries across every part of the business. Total deliveries fell to 51 aircraft from 57 a year earlier. The difference was particularly noticeable for the 787, with Boeing delivering just four Dreamliners compared with nine in August 2025. Boeing said the decline was not caused by production, supply-chain, or certification problems. That is significant because the August number alone does not provide evidence of a new manufacturing setback.

Still, the remaining 787 delivery target leaves plenty of work for the final four months of the year. Boeing had delivered 54 Dreamliners through August against its full-year expectation of 90 to 100, and meeting that range would require another 36 to 46 deliveries by year-end.

Competition provides another useful benchmark. Airbus delivered 57 aircraft in August compared with Boeing’s 51 and booked 67 orders during the month compared with Boeing’s 15. Those are August figures rather than a full-year comparison, but they show that Boeing continues to operate in a closely watched production race with its European rival.

Conclusion

For Boeing investors, one soft month probably tells less about the recovery than the year-to-date numbers do. Delivering 418 aircraft through August puts Boeing at its strongest level for the first eight months of a year since 2018, while 41 MAX deliveries in August kept its highest-volume program moving.

The 787 is where the next few months get more interesting. August handovers were weak, but Boeing says the decline was not tied to production, supply-chain, or certification problems and has kept its 90-to-100 delivery expectation intact. With 54 already delivered, the pace from here will show whether Boeing can turn that target into actual aircraft handed over to customers. For investors tracking the company’s production recovery, that is a number worth keeping an eye on.

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This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.