$200B, $96B, $70B? Who Cares, Qatar Just Ordered 210 Planes From Boeing In Major Trump Deal…

Boeing just signed a deal with Qatar Airways for up to 210 planes, and the only thing more ‘Merica than the scale of it is the fact that it happened with Donald Trump standing there like he personally soldered the fuselages. In short, the signing went down in Doha, in front of President Trump, the Emir of Qatar, Boeing’s CEO, and a press corps trying very hard not to ask the obvious: what even is this?

(Source: Giphy) 

Why? Because it’s 160 jet’s on paper… up to 210 if you count the options. But no one is clear on the value of the deal. Trump personally declared this was worth $200 billion for Boeing, while the White House themselves said $96 billion. Analysts who can do math put the value closer to $70 billion… assuming full-price 777Xs, which no airline has ever paid, ever. But hey, let’s just roll with the bigly $200B and move on… what’s a few hundred billion between friends, amirite? 

Additionally, no one has confirmed which models are actually being ordered, how many are firm, and whether any money has changed hands beyond the ceremonial handshake. Boeing doesn’t comment. Qatar Airways isn’t answering emails. Everyone is just nodding and repeating “largest widebody order in Boeing’s history” like that clarifies anything. 

(Source: CNBC) 

However, what is confirmed is 130 787 Dreamliners, 30 777-9s, and an agreement with GE Aerospace for 400+ engines to power the whole lot. It’s also the biggest engine deal in GE’s history, which sounds impressive until you remember how many parts of GE’s business have been actively dismantled over the past decade. There’s a lot of “largest ever” happening here with zero context and no follow-through.

The 777X, by the way, still isn’t certified. It’s been delayed for years. No commercial airline has taken delivery and the FAA has yet to greenlight anything. But Qatar Airways is ordering 30 of them anyway, which is either a vote of confidence or a blind bet that the regulatory agencies will eventually stop asking questions. The jobs math is also spiraling as Trump says it’ll support over one million U.S. jobs.

(Source: Reuters) 

On the other hand, Boeing says 400,000. Lindsey Graham says it’s a “gamechanger” for South Carolina because some of the planes will be built in Charleston, and that’s apparently enough to justify whatever number people feel like throwing out. The company itself employs around 170,000 people globally. You can do the math or just believe the press release… either works in this timeline. 

Oh, and there’s also the part where Qatar is trying to gift the U.S. a luxury 747 to replace Air Force One. That’s happening. Trump’s definitely into it. Some members of Congress are not. Others are confused. The ethics of a foreign government handing a U.S. president a flying palace are iffy at best, but again… no one’s really slowing this down or commenting on it. 

(Source: Giphy) 

But alas, back to Boeing, amazingly enough they haven’t posted a profit since 2018. It's been dragged through quality control disasters, manufacturing defects, a global safety crisis, and a two-month machinist strike. And the company is still crawling out of a crater of its own making. But this deal? This is the press release that gets sent around to investors as proof that things are stabilizing. Whether the planes ever get delivered, certified, or even built is something we’ll figure out later. For now, there’s a number…210 planes… and there’s a photo of Trump, Ortberg, and the Emir. That’s the update. Meanwhile, Boeing is mooning 9.50% over the past five trading days. Bigly. 

So yeah, in the meantime, keep your eyes on this Boeing deal that's worth either $200 billion, $96 billion, or $70 billion. The value doesn’t necessarily matter apparently, it’s the narrative that does… and the narrative is that Boeing is back to making sh*t again that may or may not break mid-flight. Until next time, friends… 

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Stocks.News holds positions in General Electric as mentioned in the article.