Item 1. Business
Item 1. Business
The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries (herein referred to as “Boeing,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” “our”), is one of the world’s major aerospace firms.
We are organized based on the products and services we offer. We operate in four reportable segments:
• Commercial Airplanes (BCA);
• Defense, Space & Security (BDS);
• Global Services (BGS);
• Boeing Capital (BCC).
Commercial Airplanes Segment
This segment develops, produces and markets commercial jet aircraft principally to the commercial airline industry worldwide. We are a leading producer of commercial aircraft and offer a family of commercial jetliners designed to meet a broad spectrum of global passenger and cargo requirements of airlines. This family of commercial jet aircraft in production includes the 737 narrow-body model and the 767, 777 and 787 wide-body models. We ended production of the 747 wide-body model in 2022. Development continues on the 777X program and the 737-7 and 737-10 derivatives.
Defense, Space & Security Segment
This segment engages in the research, development, production and modification of manned and unmanned military aircraft and weapons systems for strike, surveillance and mobility, including fighter and trainer aircraft; vertical lift, including rotorcraft and tilt-rotor aircraft; and commercial derivative aircraft, including anti-submarine and tanker aircraft. In addition, this segment engages in the research, development, production and modification of the following products and related services: strategic defense and intelligence systems, including strategic missile and defense systems, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR), cyber and information solutions, and intelligence systems, satellite systems, including government and commercial satellites and space exploration.
Global Services Segment
This segment provides services to our commercial and defense customers worldwide. BGS sustains aerospace platforms and systems with a full spectrum of products and services, including supply chain and logistics management, engineering, maintenance and modifications, upgrades and conversions, spare parts, pilot and maintenance training systems and services, technical and maintenance documents, and data analytics and digital services.
Boeing Capital Segment
BCC seeks to ensure that Boeing customers have the financing they need to buy and take delivery of their Boeing product, while managing overall financing exposure. BCC’s portfolio consists of equipment under operating leases, sales-type/finance leases, notes and other receivables, assets held for sale or re-lease and investments.
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Intellectual Property
We own numerous patents and have licenses for the use of patents owned by others, which relate to our products and their manufacture. In addition to owning a large portfolio of intellectual property, we also license intellectual property to and from third parties. For example, the U.S. government has licenses in our patents that are developed in performance of government contracts, and it may use or authorize others to use the inventions covered by such patents for government purposes. Unpatented research, development and engineering skills, as well as certain trademarks, trade secrets and other intellectual property rights, also make an important contribution to our business. While our intellectual property rights in the aggregate are important to the operation of each of our businesses, we do not believe that our business would be materially affected by the expiration of any particular intellectual property right or termination of any particular intellectual property patent license agreement.
Human Capital
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, Boeing’s total workforce was approximately 156,000 and 142,000 with 13% and 12% located outside of the U.S.
As of December 31, 2022, our workforce included approximately 50,000 union members. Our principal collective bargaining agreements and their current status are summarized in the following table:
Union Percent of our Employees Represented Status of the Agreements with Major Union
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) 20% We have two major agreements; one expiring in September 2024 and one in July 2025.
The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) 10% We have two major agreements expiring in October 2026.
The United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) 1% We have one major agreement expiring in April 2027.
Guided by our values, we are committed to creating a company where everyone is included and respected, and where we support each other in reaching our full potential. We are committed to diverse representation across all levels of our workforce to reflect the vibrant and thriving diversity of the communities in which we live and work. In June of 2022, we released our second Global Equity, Diversity and Inclusion report with our workforce composition. As of December 2021, our U.S. workforce was comprised of approximately 23% women, 33% U.S. racial and ethnic minorities and 15% U.S. veterans. We also support Business Resource Groups open to all employees with more than 15,000 participants across 170 chapters globally that focus on gender, race & ethnicity, generations, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or veteran status. These groups help foster inclusion among all teammates, build awareness, recruit and retain a diverse workforce and support the company in successfully operating in a global, multicultural business environment. We are committed to releasing an annual Global Equity, Diversity and Inclusion report in 2023 which will be updated with the latest year’s information. Our 2022 report can be found on our website.
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To attract and retain the best-qualified talent, we offer competitive benefits, including market-competitive compensation, healthcare, paid time off, parental leave, retirement benefits, tuition assistance, employee skills development, leadership development and rotation programs. In 2022, our voluntary resignation rate was approximately 4%. Additionally, we hired approximately 23,000 new employees in 2022 for critical skills and had an offer acceptance rate of 78%.
Employees are encouraged to provide feedback about their experience through ongoing employee engagement activities. Boeing actively listens to its employees via surveys ranging from pre-hire to exiting the company. These voluntary surveys provide aggregate trend reports for the company to address in real time and ensure Boeing maintains an employee-focused experience and culture. We also invest in rewarding performance and have established a multi-level recognition program for the purpose of acknowledging the achievements of excellent individual or team performance.
We are committed to supporting our employees’ continuous development of professional, technical and leadership skills through access to digital learning resources and through partnerships with leading professional/technical societies and organizations around the world. For 2022, Boeing employees completed approximately 5.8 million hours of learning. We offer the ability for our people to pursue degree programs, professional certificates and individual courses in strategic fields of study from more than 300 accredited colleges and universities, online and across the globe through our tuition assistance program. Over 9,000 Boeing employees leverage these programs every year.
Safety, quality, integrity and sustainability are at the core of how Boeing operates. We aspire to achieve zero workplace injuries and provide a safe, open and accountable work environment for our employees. Employees are also required on an annual basis to sign the Boeing Code of Conduct to reaffirm their commitment to do their work in a compliant and ethical manner. We provide several channels for all employees to speak up, ask for guidance and report concerns related to ethics or safety violations. We address employee concerns and take appropriate actions that uphold our Boeing values.
Competition
The commercial jet aircraft market and the airline industry remain extremely competitive. We face aggressive international competitors who are intent on increasing their market share, such as Airbus and entrants from China. We are focused on improving our products and processes and continuing cost reduction efforts. We intend to continue to compete with other aircraft manufacturers by providing customers with airplanes and services that deliver superior design, safety, efficiency and value to customers around the world.
BDS faces strong competition primarily from Lockheed Martin Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Raytheon Technologies Corporation, General Dynamics Corporation and SpaceX. Non-U.S. companies such as BAE Systems and Airbus Group continue to build a strategic presence in the U.S. market by strengthening their North American operations and partnering with U.S. defense companies. In addition, certain competitors have occasionally formed teams with other competitors to address specific customer requirements. BDS expects the trend of strong competition to continue into 2023.
The commercial and defense services markets are extremely challenging and are made up of many of the same strong U.S. and non-U.S. competitors facing BCA and BDS along with other competitors in those markets. BGS leverages our extensive services network offering products and services which span the life cycle of our defense and commercial aircraft programs: training, fleet services and logistics, maintenance and engineering, modifications and upgrades, as well as the daily cycle of gate-to-gate operations. BGS expects the market to remain highly competitive in 2023, and intends to grow market share by leveraging a high level of customer satisfaction and productivity.
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Regulatory Matters
Our businesses are heavily regulated in most of our markets. We work with numerous U.S. government agencies and entities, including but not limited to, all of the branches of the U.S. military, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Homeland Security. Similar government authorities exist in our non-U.S. markets.
Government Contracts. The U.S. government, and other governments, may terminate any of our government contracts at their convenience, as well as for default based on our failure to meet specified performance requirements. If any of our U.S. government contracts were to be terminated for convenience, we generally would be entitled to receive payment for work completed and allowable termination or cancellation costs. If any of our government contracts were to be terminated for default, generally the U.S. government would pay only for the work that has been accepted and could require us to pay the difference between the original contract price and the cost to re-procure the contract items, net of the work accepted from the original contract. The U.S. government can also hold us liable for damages resulting from the default.
Commercial Aircraft. In the U.S., our commercial aircraft products are required to comply with FAA regulations governing production and quality systems, airworthiness and installation approvals, repair procedures and continuing operational safety. New aircraft models and new derivative aircraft are required to obtain FAA certification prior to entry into service. Outside the U.S., similar requirements exist for airworthiness, installation and operational approvals. These requirements are generally administered by the national aviation authorities of each country and, in the case of Europe, coordinated by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
Environmental. We are subject to various federal, state, local and non-U.S. laws and regulations relating to environmental protection, including the discharge, treatment, storage, disposal and remediation of hazardous substances and wastes. We could also be affected by laws and regulations relating to climate change, including laws limiting or otherwise related to greenhouse gas emissions. These laws and regulations could lead to increased environmental compliance expenditures, increased energy and raw materials costs and new and/or additional investment in designs and technologies. We continually assess our compliance status and management of environmental matters to ensure our operations are in compliance with all applicable environmental laws and regulations. Investigation, remediation and operation and maintenance costs associated with environmental compliance and management of sites are a normal, recurring part of our operations. These costs often are allowable costs under our contracts with the U.S. government. It is reasonably possible that costs incurred to ensure continued environmental compliance could have a material impact on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows if additional work requirements or more stringent clean-up standards are imposed by regulators, new areas of soil, air and groundwater contamination are discovered and/or expansions of work scope are prompted by the results of investigations.
For additional information relating to environmental contingencies, see Note 13 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Non-U.S. Sales. Our non-U.S. sales are subject to both U.S. and non-U.S. governmental regulations and procurement policies and practices, including regulations relating to import-export control, tariffs, investment, exchange controls, anti-corruption and repatriation of earnings. Non-U.S. sales are also subject to varying currency, political and economic risks.
Raw Materials, Parts and Subassemblies
We are highly dependent on the availability of essential materials, parts and subassemblies from our suppliers and subcontractors. The most important raw materials required for our aerospace products
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are aluminum (sheet, plate, forgings and extrusions), titanium (sheet, plate, forgings and extrusions) and composites (including carbon and boron). Although alternative sources generally exist for these raw materials, qualification of the sources could take a year or more. During 2022, as a result of the Russia Ukraine war, we suspended purchasing titanium from Russia. This has not disrupted our operations as we have been able to use inventory on hand and identify alternative sources. Many major components and product equipment items are procured or subcontracted on a sole-source basis. We continue to work with a small number of sole-source suppliers to ensure continuity of supply for certain items.
Suppliers
We are dependent upon the ability of a large number of U.S. and non-U.S. suppliers and subcontractors to meet performance specifications, quality standards and delivery schedules at our anticipated costs. While we maintain an extensive qualification and performance surveillance system to control risk associated with such reliance on third parties, failure of suppliers or subcontractors to meet commitments could adversely affect production schedules and program/contract profitability, thereby jeopardizing our ability to fulfill commitments to our customers. We are also dependent on the availability of energy sources, such as electricity, at affordable prices.
Seasonality
No material portion of our business is considered to be seasonal.
Executive Officers of the Registrant
See “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance” in Part III.
Other Information
Boeing was originally incorporated in the State of Washington in 1916 and reincorporated in Delaware in 1934. Our principal executive offices are located at 929 Long Bridge Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22202, and our telephone number is (703) 465-3500.
General information about us can be found at www.boeing.com. The information contained on or connected to our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K and should not be considered part of this or any other report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, as well as any amendments to those reports, are available free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we file them with, or furnish them to, the SEC. The SEC maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy statements and other information regarding SEC registrants, including Boeing.
Forward-Looking Statements
This report, as well as our annual report to shareholders, quarterly reports and other filings we make with the SEC, press and earnings releases and other written and oral communications, contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “should,” “expects,” “intends,” “projects,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “targets,” “anticipates” and similar expressions generally identify these forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include statements relating to our future financial condition and operating results, as well as any other statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact.
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Forward-looking statements are based on expectations and assumptions that we believe to be reasonable when made, but that may not prove to be accurate. These statements are not guarantees and are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Many factors, including those set forth in the “Risk Factors” section below and other important factors disclosed in this report and from time to time in our other filings with the SEC, could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from these forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.