Founded in 1916, The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) is a leading manufacturer of defense, space and security systems as well as commercial jetliners. The company is a top United States exporter, and supports customers and airlines in 150 countries. Boeing produces military aircraft, weapons, satellites, and performance-based logistics, as well as electronic defense, launch, and advanced information and communication systems. While the company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, its aircraft are designed and built in multiple locations across the United States. As of 2014, Boeing made $90.78 billion in revenue and had a net income of $5.45 billion.
The Boeing Company is organized into five primary subdivisions, the first being Boeing Commercial Airplanes, or BCA. BCA manufactures the Boeing 737, 747, 767, 777 and 787 as well as the Boeing Business Jet. There are over 10,000 Boeing commercial planes in service worldwide-forty-eight percent of the entire world's fleet. Approximately ninety percent of the world's cargo is carried aboard Boeing's aircraft. Boeing Commercial Airplanes also provides maintenance, technical support, and airline training. Boeing's second major subdivision is Boeing Defense, Space & Security, or BDS. This sector provides solution for the production, design, support, and modification of military fixed-wing aircraft, rotorcraft, weapons, and satellite systems. The third sector, Boeing Capital Corporation, provides global financing solutions; by working closely with other subdivisions and with a portfolio value of approximately $3.5 billion, BCC ensures that potential customers have the financing needed to purchase and take delivery of Boeing products.
Boeing's Engineering, Operations & Technology (EO&T) sector provides services in information technology, research technology, and test and evaluation. The subdivision also offers engineering, operations and supplier management support, and help ensure program success. Shared Services Group provides corporate offices and business units with common internal services that support global operations. SSG protects and maintains worldwide sites, acquires leased and owned property, purchases equipment and materials, and supplies human resource services as well as recruiting strategies.
As more and more developing countries seek to acquire advanced aircraft, Boeing is primed to continue its international expansion. The company recently built a 737-completion center in China, and has thus opened itself to criticism over risking potential United States jobs. Nevertheless, expanding to China is vital for Boeing if the company wants to remain competitive in the world's largest and most sought-after emerging aviation market. The building of the aforementioned completion center came with a $38 billion order for new aircraft from China; Boeing predicts that the Chinese market will be worth $1 trillion in twenty years.
The Boeing Company's increasing international expansion should not, in fact, spur fear over lost jobs in the United States. Whereas completion centers may be built abroad, most of the assembled aircraft will continue to be built on American soil. Spirit AeroSystems Inc. (NYSE: SPR), for example, has work on every Boeing commercial program-the company builds approximately seventy percent of every Boeing 737. This does not change just because Boeing has expanded to China. Therefore, the more aircraft that Boeing can sell abroad, the more work will be generated back home in the United States.