Boeing’s factories stall, yet this aviation supplier’s orders jumped 49% RSS CTA

Investing.com and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.

Boeing’s (NYSE:BA) persistent factory halts and regulatory audits have dominated aerospace headlines, but the slowdown in new aircraft assembly has created an unexpected windfall for commercial maintenance providers. Unable to take delivery of new jets on schedule, global airlines are keeping older fleets flying longer—driving an unprecedented surge in demand for aftermarket parts, engine overhauls, and routine shop visits.

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) is capturing the lion’s share of that spending. With orders jumping 49% to $19.0 billion in its latest quarter, the commercial turbine giant raised its full-year earnings outlook for the fourth consecutive time. While planemakers absorb delivery penalties and supply-chain friction, GE’s commercial aftermarket model generates high-margin recurring cash flow from an active global fleet of more than 80,000 engines.

That contrast between stalled assembly lines and surging aftermarket demand is exactly what InvestingPro’s ProPicks AI models look for. During the live November 1 rebalance, the system added GE Aerospace to the Beat the S&P 500 strategy, pairing the aviation leader with a focused group of cash-generative large caps—including a dominant online travel platform, a high-margin commercial biopharma developer, and a major national health insurer.

Servicing the Fleet That Is Already Flying

Commercial segment revenue grew 21% in the third quarter, the sixth straight quarter of growth at 20% or better. Services revenue rose 17%, and segment orders jumped 58%, ahead of the company-wide 49%.

Adjusted operating profit climbed 30% to $3.0 billion, a 22.5% margin that expanded 220 basis points, and adjusted EPS of $2.25 rose 36% and beat consensus estimates of $2.00. Management raised its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $8.00 to $8.10 from $7.65 to $7.85.

The industry’s largest installed base, more than 80,000 units, sits behind a services backlog above $170 billion, and services orders are up 30% so far this year. More than 95% of fourth-quarter spare-parts revenue is already in that backlog.

Airlines are also holding on to older aircraft: CFM56 retirement rates have fallen to roughly 1.5% to 2.0%, well below the 3% to 4% originally forecast, which extends demand for parts and repairs. That work comes from aircraft already in service, so it does not wait on the delivery delays at Boeing.

A Maintenance Cycle With Years of Visibility

LEAP deliveries are up 26% year to date, and IndiGo’s agreement for more than 1,000 LEAP-1A units was the largest LEAP deal ever. The LEAP and GEnx installed bases are expected to roughly double by 2030, which should lift high-margin shop visits. LEAP shop visits are projected to grow about 25% to 26% in 2027 after 40%-plus growth this year.

Management guides to roughly flat commercial segment margins in 2027, as services growth offsets losses on the GE9X ramp, and expects expansion to resume from 2028. The GE9X still awaits FAA certification, which management targets for year-end. Free cash flow conversion has run at 105% year to date, and raised guidance calls for $9.1 billion to $9.4 billion of free cash flow in 2026.

Valuation is the counterweight. GE trades at a forward multiple of 36.6 times, and the shares slipped about 4% in premarket trading on the October 20 results despite the beat, as investors questioned the pace of future growth. All but one of the latest Wall Street ratings are Buy, and consensus analyst projections compiled on InvestingPro have EPS rising from $8.24 this year to $10.39 in 2028, which would take that multiple to about 29 times.

The dividend is a smaller part of the case, with a yield of 0.62%, though InvestingPro’s ProTips note payments for 56 consecutive years. The GE Aerospace Pro Research Report goes deeper on service margins, shop-visit trends and the dividend record.

Finding Top Performers Beyond Aviation

GE Aerospace proves that commercial aviation profitability does not depend on smooth assembly lines in Seattle. With more than 95% of fourth-quarter parts revenue already locked in and a $170 billion services backlog, the company’s aftermarket model converts delayed aircraft retirements into visible, high-margin cash flow through the end of the decade.

Recognizing when market volatility obscures cash-flow durability is why ProPicks AI evaluates fundamentals on the first of every month. With the November rebalance now live, the Beat the S&P 500 strategy systematically reallocated capital into resilient market leaders across aerospace maintenance, digital travel, commercial therapeutics, and healthcare infrastructure.

For investors seeking high-conviction ideas in the newly updated portfolios, full access to all ProPicks AI strategies costs just $9 a month.

The author holds no position in the stocks mentioned. Data and financial metrics as of November 4, 2026.