Boeing Co.

The stable outlook on Boeing Co. reflects our expectation that credit measures will likely be below our downgrade trigger through most of 2020 due to the MAX grounding, but then recover to levels appropriate for the rating. We expect funds from operations (FFO) to debt to decline to 15%-20% in 2019 from 72% in 2018, and then improve to the 55%-65% range 2020. We could lower the rating if FFO to debt falls below 40% and remains there in 2020. This could occur if the MAX grounding is substantially longer than we anticipate or causes material order cancellations such that Boeing does not increase production as planned once deliveries resume. It could also occur if significant supply chain problems upset

...In our base-case scenario, we believe Boeing will be able to resume 737 MAX deliveries this fall, contingent on regulatory approval.The company appears to be on track to present the updated MCAS flight control software to the FAA in September. We assume it will not take very long for final certification once the FAA receives the update, as they have been working with Boeing throughout the process. Therefore, deliveries could resume as soon as October 2019. However, there is still considerable uncertainty to this timeline. Furthermore, regulators of other countries will also have to certify the updated software before Boeing can deliver aircraft to those locations. We believe most global regulators, with the notable exception of China, will likely give their approval along with or soon after the FAA does....

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