Business

Should Boeing really be in the Dow? A look at the struggling stock

By Dominic Diongson TheStreet

Updated May 16, 2026 9:43 AM

Boeing has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average for almost four decades. As one of just 30 American stocks in one of the most widely followed bellwether indexes in the world, it is a part of many investors' portfolios.

Still, Boeing has faced challenges. It used to pay dividends since it became a publicly traded company more than six decades ago. In 2020, it decided to halt payments as a way to preserve cash and shore up its finances. Boeing returned to profitability in 2025, but whether it will resume dividend payments remains to be seen.

Given the company's history of fatal crashes and other scandals, and the fact that it wasn't profitable from 2019 to 2024, many investors wonder why Boeing remains a part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Here's a look at Boeing's current situation and why it remains a significant component of the carefully curated index.

Should Boeing remain in the Dow?

While Boeing has lost money from 2020 to 2024 amid the COVID-19 crisis and the fallout from two fatal 737 MAX crashes, there are other factors to consider when determining whether it should remain a Dow component.

According to the Averages Committee of the S&P Dow Jones Indices - committee that oversees selection for inclusion in the Dow - there are various factors to consider: the company's reputation, its history of sustained growth, wide investor interest, and its sector representation of the broader market.

Share price

Despite the annual losses, Boeing's share price remains high relative to other stocks in the price-weighted Dow. The stock reached almost $400 in 2019 following record profits, but it never fell below $100 over the five years it lost money. After returning to profit in 2025, the stock was trading close to $250 as of mid-May 2026.

In comparison, when General Electric's share price was close to dipping below $10 amid significant financial setbacks, the stock was removed from the Dow in 2018 and replaced with Walgreens. A few years later, GE was spun off into three different companies. It had been part of the Dow since 1907.

Boeing titled its 2017 annual report, "2017 Top Dow Performer," when the stock gained 89% versus the Dow's 25% gain. "Our strong performance trend - underpinned by our sizeable backlog, a large and growing aerospace and defense market, and our positive future outlook - helped make Boeing the Dow's top-performing company in 2017, as measured by stock price and total shareholder returns."

A year later, in 2018, it posted a record annual profit of more than $10 billion.

Sector representation

As the biggest aircraft maker in the U.S., Boeing employs more than 180,000 people, with a significant portion of the workforce in unions. Boeing gets its revenues from commercial aircraft, defense and space contracts, and global services. Still, it's unlikely that the company will be broken up anytime soon.

How long has Boeing been a stock component in the Dow Jones Industrial Average?

Boeing has been a component of the Dow since 1987. It became a publicly traded company in 1962, when it first started trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Along with Coca-Cola, Boeing replaced Owens-Illinois, a maker of glass bottles and other containers, and Inco, a nickel producer.

How has Boeing's stock performed since becoming part of the Dow?

Since joining the Dow on March 12, 1987, Boeing's stock has risen more than 19-fold as of mid-May 2026. That compares to the Dow's nearly 21-fold increase in the same timeframe.

That underperformance even carried over in a term shorter than its overall time in the Dow. In the past five years, the stock rose 4%, while the Dow gained 44%.

More on Boeing:

What are Boeing's peers?

There are no other aerospace companies listed in the Dow. Boeing has a few peers, and its biggest competitors include General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX, and GE Aerospace.

While General Dynamics builds smaller commercial jet-fueled aircraft, GE Aerospace manufactures components, and Lockheed and the other companies get much of their revenue from military contracts.

Boeing's closest rival is Airbus, which has dual headquarters in Leiden, The Netherlands, and Blagnac, France. Because it is a foreign company, it can't be listed in the Dow.

How does Boeing compare to other stocks in the Dow?

Zacks Investment Research, which provides stock analysis, has a "hold" recommendation on Boeing shares as of mid-May 2026. That means the stock has potential to rise, but risks remain, considering the company went from turning a profit in one year to incurring a loss the following year.

Boeing's "hold" rating is not unique among Dow components, as 23 other stocks within the Dow share this designation. Six other stocks have "buy" and "sell" ratings, with Chevron having the sole "strong buy" recommendation.

Despite all of Boeing's recent challenges over the past decade, it remains a significant component in the Dow.

The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.

This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 9:26 AM.