Boeing faces a trust crisis with analysts, regulators and Congress

Boeing released its third-quarter earnings report on Wednesday, and it doesn’t look good.

Earnings were cut in half – a stark indication of the cost of the crisis involving fatal crashes of the 737 Max jets, which have been grounded since March.

KUOW reporter Carolyn Adolph talked with Morning Edition host Angela King about the numbers.

Angela King: First, sum up this report for us.

Carolyn Adolph: You can see the crisis for Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes division -- 62 deliveries in the quarter instead of 190.

Also, the cash crunch: The company burned through $2.4 billion in the quarter -- that's not sustainable.

On Monday, the Commercial Airplanes division president resigned.

But the company still says it's expecting the FAA to approve the 737 Max’s return to service by the end of the year.

What does all this mean for Boeing ... is it what analysts expected?

Give or take. Everyone knew these results would be bad. And they're not coming in bad enough to freak the market out. This morning, Boeing stock is nosing up.

What happens next for Boeing?

CEO Dennis Muilenburg got tough questioning this morning from financial analysts and reporters who want to know what happens if the FAA doesn't conform to Boeing's expectations -- how long can the company go on like this.

Then there's the main event: the trust crisis Boeing's facing. He appears before a congressional committee next Wednesday.