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Of the 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Boeing’s stock price fell the most in 2024.
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The plane maker got off to a worrying start with the Alaska Airlines explosion in January.
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Its new CEO also faced a seven-week strike that contributed to delivery delays.
Boeing’s painful 2024 ended with the planemaker ranking as the biggest loser on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Its share price fell 31% last year, the worst decline of the 30 companies in the index, according to data from Markets Insider.
The aircraft maker came close to avoiding that title as Nike shares fell nearly 30% during the same period. Collectively, the Dow Jones rose 13%, led by Nvidia after its shares more than doubled.
Just days into 2024, it was evident that it was going to be a testing year for Boeing.
On January 5, an Alaska Airlines 737 Max lost a door plug in the air. The fact that the plane was delivered 66 days early suggested that the problem originated with the manufacturer. This was later shown in the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report that said the plane left the Boeing factory without key screws.
The incident sparked a review of the company’s processes and culture and a wave of criticism from airline bosses.
Regulators also subjected Boeing to greater scrutiny. The Federal Aviation Administration limited production of the 737 Max to 38 planes per month. Its manager, Mike Whitaker, told Reuters last month that he expects it will take Boeing several months to reach that figure.
In March, Dave Calhoun resigned as CEO. He was replaced in August by Kelly Ortberg, an industry veteran who signaled a return to prioritizing engineering over profits.
Ortberg announced plans to establish headquarters in Seattle, the historic home of Boeing, and visited factories.
Still, the beleaguered company couldn’t stay out of the headlines.
In September, its Starliner spacecraft returned to Earth without a crew. The astronauts he took to the International Space Station were supposed to return after eight days, but problems with Starliner meant they will spend eight months in space.
Later that month, some 30,000 Boeing workers went on strike, hampering production for seven weeks amid tense union negotiations. Production of the 737 Max did not restart until December.
Late deliveries continued to irritate airline customers. During the strike, Ortberg announced further delays to Boeing’s long-awaited but not yet certified 777X aircraft.
The CEO also said Boeing would lay off 10% of its 170,000 employees.
Boeing’s biggest rival, Airbus, has seen its shares rise 14% over the past year.