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The Food and Drug Administration said it will take steps to speed up the process of developing generic versions of complex biological drugs, in a bid to increase cheaper competition for expensive medicines and lower drug costs for Americans. 
It’s the Trump administration’s latest move to rein in high prescription drug costs in the U.S., and could be a blow to pharmaceutical companies.
The FDA’s new reforms “will take the five-to-eight year timeframe to bring a biosimilar to market and cut it in half,” said the agency’s commissioner, Marty Makary.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary speaks during a press conference alongside U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, discussing administration plans to lower drug costs, at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., U.S., Oct. 29, 2025.
Annabelle Gordon | Reuters

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday said it will take steps to speed up the process of developing generic versions of complex biological drugs, in a bid to increase cheaper competition for expensive medicines and lower drug costs for Americans. 
It’s the Trump administration’s latest move to rein in high prescription drug costs in the U.S., where medication prices are two-to-three times higher than those in other developed nations. 

The move to support the development and approval of so-called biosimilars could be a blow to pharmaceutical companies, whose most profitable products are often biological products that treat serious and chronic diseases. The exact impact will depend on the drugmaker and its products.
In a statement on Wednesday, a Health and Human Services Department spokesperson said the law gives manufacturers 12 years of exclusivity for biologic medicines, which is a “primary determining factor in drug development decision-making.”
“No manufacturer should anticipate a monopoly or anything else beyond what is legally granted,” the spokesperson said.
The FDA’s new reforms “will take the five-to-eight year timeframe to bring a biosimilar to market and cut it in half,” the agency’s Commissioner Marty Makary said during a press conference on Wednesday.
During the event, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the FDA has an “outdated and burdensome approval process that has slowed down the entry of biosimilars.” He said “even when [the drugs] do get approved, current laws often prevent pharmacists or patients from substituting them for patients who would benefit from a more affordable option.”

“That all ends today, a the FDA is taking bold, decisive action to break down these barriers and open the markets for real competition,” Kennedy said.
Biological products are engineered with living cells, which makes manufacturing more complex than for chemically derived drugs. Biologics have a special pathway to FDA approval, and it is harder for generic drug manufacturers to sell cheaper versions due to the high costs of development and difficult regulatory landscape. 
Biologic medications make up only 5% of prescriptions in the U.S., but account for 51% of total drug spending as of 2024, according to an FDA release. FDA-approved biosimilars are as safe and effective as their branded counterparts, yet their market share remains below 20%, the agency added. The FDA said it has so far approved 76 biosimilars, making up only a small fraction of approved biologic drugs.
Kennedy said biosimilars, on average, cost half the price of their branded counterparts. Their entry into the market drives down brand-name drug prices by another 25%, which is a “real relief for patients,” he added. 
Biosimilar generics saved $20 billion in U.S. health-care costs last year alone, the FDA said.
In a new draft guidance, the FDA proposed major updates to simplify biosimilar studies. For example, the agency recommended that human studies directly comparing the biosimilar to a branded product may not be necessary for drug companies to conduct. That research takes years and costs tens of millions of dollars. 
Biosimilars have historically struggled to gain market share from their branded counterparts compared to generic copies of small-molecule drugs, which are often delivered in pill form and can enter cells easily because it has a low molecular weight.
The difference is that many biosimilars aren’t identical copies of branded biologic drugs, while generics are. 
In many cases, pharmacists can’t directly substitute a branded biologic for a biosimilar when filling a prescription unless they are classified as “interchangeable” and it is permitted by state law. 
But the FDA on Wednesday said it generally recommends against requiring so-called “switching studies,” which determine whether biosimilars have that classification. That step is not required for generic copies of small-molecule drugs. 
“These additional studies can slow development and create public confusion about biosimilar safety,” the FDA said in a release. More

Starbucks reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings, but the company saw same-store sales grow for the first time in nearly two years.
Its U.S. same-store sales were flat for the quarter but turned positive in September.
CEO Brian Niccol is carrying out a turnaround strategy after struggles in the company’s two biggest markets, the U.S. and China.

The American multinational chain Starbucks Coffee store and logo seen displayed.
Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Starbucks on Wednesday reported that its quarterly same-store sales returned to growth for the first time in nearly two years, showing that its turnaround strategy is winning over lapsed customers.
The coffee chain’s global same-store sales rose 1%, lifted by international markets. Its U.S. same-store sales were flat for the quarter but turned positive in September. Wall Street was projecting global same-store sales declines of 0.3% and a 0.9% decrease in U.S. same-store sales.

“We’re a year into our ‘Back to Starbucks’ strategy, and it’s clear that our turnaround is taking hold,” CEO Brian Niccol said in a statement.
Domestic same-store sales turned positive in September, and the company has held onto that momentum through October, Niccol said on the company’s conference call. However, CFO Cathy Smith cautioned analysts against cheering too soon.
“Turnarounds are difficult to forecast, and while we have good reason to believe that our U.S. company-operated [same-store sales] should build through the year, we also know that recoveries are not always linear,” she said.
The company suspended its annual forecast a year ago, and it is not expecting to release a near- or long-term outlook until an investor day slated for late January.
Shares of Starbucks rose 2% in extended trading.

Here’s what the company reported for the quarter ended Sept. 28 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Earnings per share: 52 cents adjusted vs. 56 cents expected
Revenue: $9.57 billion vs. $9.35 billion expected

The coffee giant reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income attributable to Starbucks of $133.1 million, or 12 cents per share, down from $909.3 million, or 80 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding restructuring costs, litigation settlements and other items, Starbucks earned 52 cents per share. During the quarter, the company closed 627 locations and laid off roughly 900 nonretail employees as part of a restructuring plan.
In addition to the restructuring plan, Starbucks has been investing heavily in labor, including adding assistant store managers to many North American cafes. The added labor costs weighed on its operating margin this quarter.
Net sales rose 5% to $9.57 billion.
To revive U.S. sales, Starbucks has focused on improving the in-store experience for customers and cutting service times to under four minutes per order. More than 80% of company-operated locations have an average service time of four minutes or less, even as the chain saw a rise in traffic after it launched its fall menu, according to Niccol.
The company’s marketing efforts have switched from promotions and limited-time items to highlighting its coffee and trendy innovation, like protein-packed cold foam.
The strategy has succeeded in winning back some U.S. customers. Smith said that the number of 90-day active Starbucks Rewards members grew 1% both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year.
Outside Starbucks’ home market, same-store sales increased 3%, fueled by a 6% jump in traffic.
In China, the company’s second-largest market, same-store sales rose 2%, boosted by a 9% climb in traffic. Under pressure in the country from home-grown rivals with cheaper beverages, Starbucks has lowered prices on many of its iced drinks to bring back customers.
The company is also exploring selling a stake in its China business after years of sales declines in the competitive market. Niccol previously told CNBC’s Jim Cramer that the company values the China business at more than $10 billion.
“On the strategic front, we have had very strong interest from multiple high quality partners, all of whom see significant value in the Starbucks brand and team,” Niccol said on Wednesday. “We expect to retain a meaningful stake in Starbucks China and remain confident in the long term growth potential in the region.” More

An “era of rearmament” is under way in Europe, declared Armin Papperger, the boss of Rheinmetall, earlier this year. Investors in Germany’s defence champion certainly seem to think so. Since the start of the year its market value has rocketed from €27bn ($31bn) to €80bn, equivalent to 90 times its annual net profit and within shooting distance of Lockheed Martin, an American defence colossus. The values of other large European defence contractors, including Britain’s BAE Systems, France’s Thales and Italy’s Leonardo, have also soared (see chart 1). More

Funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food aid could lapse within days if the government shutdown persists.
A lapse in the funding would be devastating for millions of U.S. families and would have ripple effects across the economy, from small grocers to big chains.
Walmart, Dollar General and Kroger are among the companies that most rely on spending from SNAP beneficiaries.

A man holds a sign reading “SNAP Feeds Families,” as food aid benefits will be suspended starting November 1 amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, during “A Rally for SNAP” on the steps of the Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., October 28, 2025.
Brian Snyder | Reuters

Nearly 42 million Americans are days away from missing their monthly food stamp check as the government shutdown enters its 28th day.
The Trump administration has said funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will not be distributed if the federal government is still shut down on Nov. 1. With little movement toward a resolution on Capitol Hill, Congress appears set to blow past that deadline.

The expiration of aid would have a devastating effect on millions of households already struggling to afford food, and force people across the country to seek help at food banks. The lapse in that spending would also have a ripple effect on the economy, from small grocers to massive chains like Walmart and even retailers that sell discretionary merchandise.
There will be “an immediate effect on the purchasing mix” toward lower profit margin groceries and household staples, and the potential for more theft as food budgets dry up, Wolfe Research analyst Spencer Hanus wrote in a note to investors Monday. Consumer confidence among lower-income Americans could also take a hit heading into the holiday season, Hanus said.
SNAP recipients received an average of about $187 per month in fiscal 2024, according to government data. Among those beneficiaries, 73% live below the poverty line, which is currently $32,150 or less for a family of four.
Following years of high food inflation and other recent hits to the size of government benefits, the loss of that assistance would be a massive blow to many low-income Americans.
Consumers who use SNAP benefits to pay for groceries spend more, and shop more often, than other shoppers, according to data from Numerator. 

On average, a SNAP beneficiary spends $832 per month on groceries, 20% more than a non-SNAP shopper, though the amount spent on each trip averages 12% less, or about $20.80 per outing, the market research company said. SNAP shoppers visit more retailers per month at 6.6, compared to 6.1 for people who don’t receive the aid, according to Numerator.
Hanus said his firm is seeing Google search interest for “food banks” and “food stamps” surge as SNAP beneficiaries look for alternatives. While there is often a spike in interest in those terms around Thanksgiving, he said “it is up materially year over year, implying that this consumer is feeling a shock here.”
The potential loss of aid from the shutdown is the second recent hit to government food assistance programs for lower-income Americans. The One Big Beautiful Act legislation passed by Republicans this year cuts SNAP benefits by an estimated 20%.
Hanus estimates the spending changes in the bill equate to a 1.5% to 2% hit to retail industry sales.

The retailers most reliant on SNAP benefit spending

A person shops at a Dollar General store on May 28, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson | Getty Images

While there are different ways to consider how a lapse in SNAP benefits could impact retailers, grocers will likely take a hit. And the effects could reach employees.
“Often, grocers’ staffing and inventory are planned around benefit cycles, so a lapse could lead to reduced employee hours, perishable food losses, and declining sales,” industry group the National Grocers Association said in a statement. “Furthermore, when benefits are restored, the resulting surge in demand could strain supply chains nationwide.”
Numerator data shows Walmart, Dollar General and Dollar Tree are more likely to cater to SNAP shoppers, while Target, Costco and Amazon-owned Whole Foods are less likely. Hanus estimates a high-single digit percent of Walmart’s sales are related to SNAP, while Dollar General and Dollar Tree are in the mid-single digits.
But SNAP users spend the most annually on groceries at Walmart, followed by Kroger and Costco, according to Numerator.

Customers enter a Walmart store on April 09, 2025 in San Leandro, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Walmart is the country’s largest retailer, and its largest grocer. It also captures significantly more SNAP grocery spending than competitors, Numerator found. More than 94% of SNAP shoppers have bought food there in the past year, with an average annual spend of $2,653, or 26% of the cohort’s annual grocery spending.
Just under half, or 48.8%, of all SNAP recipients shopped at Kroger in the past year, spending an average $1,687.67 annually, or 8.6% of the group’s total yearly grocery spend.
While it requires a membership to shop, Costco takes the third spot for where SNAP users buy groceries by average annual spend at $1,482.98. Walmart-owned membership club Sam’s Club captures the fourth spot for share of spend at 3.8% and does offer discounted memberships for new members who verify participation on a government assistance plan.
Walmart referred CNBC to the National Retail Federation, which said cutting off funding for food aid “creates a crisis for millions of American families.” Albertsons referred CNBC to the Food Industry Association, which called on Congress to reopen the government and “ensure that these vital programs remain dependable for those who have to rely on them to get them through a difficult time.”
Costco declined to comment. Kroger, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Amazon and Whole Foods did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In all, 3.6% of U.S. in-store grocery trips paid using the government’s SNAP or Women, Infants and Children benefits in 2025 through September, which is down from 3.9% in 2024, according to Numerator. That share has fallen from the pandemic peak of 6.5% in November 2021, when there was an additional emergency allotment. 
However, more grocery trips are funded with SNAP benefits now than pre-pandemic, when between 2.2% and 2.8% of groceries were purchased under the program in all of the months between February 2019 and February 2020.

The impact beyond grocery

If SNAP funding expires, recipients may buy less of other goods, too.
“Fewer dollars in the consumers’ wallet forces a reallocation of discretionary dollars towards food and more tepid spending overall,” said Wells Fargo equity analyst Edward Kelly in a note to investors last week. He noted that retailers reporting earnings in November may say they have seen weaker discretionary spending during that month due to the food assistance expiration.
While there has never been a time when the federal government has not come up with a contingency for SNAP funding during shutdowns, states are beginning to step in. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is working on $30 million in aid for impacted New Yorkers. 
Plus, missed SNAP benefits should be paid in arrears once the government reopens — though it’s unknown when that will be. 
“We’d expect an eventual resolution of the government shutdown, which could mean a windfall for low-end consumers into peak shopping season as missed payments are made up,” Kelly said. More

Eli Lilly and Walmart said they have teamed up to boost access to the pharma giant’s weight loss drug Zepbound, allowing U.S. patients to access vials of the blockbuster injection at direct-to-consumer prices through retail locations for the first time. 
Starting in mid-November, cash-paying patients with a prescription can purchase single-dose vials of Zepbound at discounts of 50% or more through the retailer’s nearly 4,600 pharmacy locations or via home delivery.
Eli Lilly is working to maintain its dominance over rival Novo Nordisk in the booming market for a class of obesity and diabetes drugs called GLP-1s.

The Eli Lilly & Co. logo at the company’s Digital Health Innovation Hub facility in Singapore, on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.
Ore Huiying | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Eli Lilly and Walmart on Wednesday said they have teamed up to expand access to the drugmaker’s weight loss drug Zepbound, allowing U.S. patients to get vials of the blockbuster injection at direct-to-consumer prices through retail locations for the first time. 
The announcement comes as Eli Lilly works to maintain its dominance over rival Novo Nordisk in the booming market for a class of obesity and diabetes drugs called GLP-1s. It also comes as the Trump administration pressures drugmakers to make it easier for Americans to access medicines with a push for them to use direct-to-consumer models that eliminate middlemen. 

Starting in mid-November, cash-paying patients with a prescription can purchase single-dose vials of Zepbound at discounts of 50% or more off their list price through the retailer’s locations or via home delivery. Walmart, which operates nearly 4,600 pharmacies across the U.S., will serve as the first in-store pickup pharmacy option for Zepbound vials through Eli Lilly’s direct-to-consumer cash-pay platform, LillyDirect. 
It is LillyDirect’s first retail collaboration since it launched in January 2024, following partnerships with several telehealth companies. Eli Lilly did not provide an estimate of how much the Walmart offering will expand Zepbound’s reach. But Walmart’s nationwide footprint makes it the largest U.S. retailer, LillyDirect’s General Manager Jennifer Mazur told CNBC in an interview.
Walmart is the fifth-largest pharmacy in the U.S., according to its total prescription dispensing revenue in 2024. The partnership could help Eli Lilly keep its competitive edge over Novo Nordisk as the Danish drugmaker works to expand access to its weight loss drug Wegovy through a deal with CVS and its pharmacy benefit manager, Caremark.
Single-dose vials of Zepbound will cost $349 per month for the starting dose, and $499 per month for all other doses. That price point is consistent across LillyDirect’s home delivery or Walmart pickup options. 
As to whether patients would choose pickup or delivery, Mazur said, “I think it’s all about individual people, their lifestyle and how they choose to access healthcare.”

“Our goal really is just to meet as many people where they are and give more choice, more convenience and continue to offer people price transparency,” she continued. 
Mazur said LillyDirect has seen “tremendous uptake” with home delivery, but noted consumers could prefer to go in person because they have an established relationship with a local pharmacist or find it more convenient to pick up prescriptions at their neighborhood pharmacy.

LillyDirect shows progress

LillyDirect, which launched more than a year before Novo Nordisk’s own direct-to-consumer platform, has helped Eli Lilly gain ground over its rival. 
Direct-to-consumer sales now account for more than a third of new prescriptions of Zepbound, Mazur said. She said the company hit an inflection point after August 2024, when Eli Lilly began to offer Zepbound vials for cash payment at more than 50% below the drug’s list price.
Mazur said Eli Lilly shares the Trump administration’s goal of making Food and Drug Administration-approved medicines more accessible and affordable for Americans. 
“We look forward to continued collaboration with the administration to achieve our shared goals and will continue to innovate with LillyDirect,” she said. 
President Donald Trump is working to strike drug pricing deals with pharmaceutical companies as part of his controversial “most favored nation” policy, which aims to link U.S. medicine prices to the lowest paid in other developed countries. 
Trump has so far announced agreements with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and EMD Serono, the largest fertility drug manufacturer in the world, but not Eli Lilly. More

Paramount Skydance began the process of laying off roughly 1,000 employees on Wednesday.
The total amount of cuts is expected to reach 2,000.
This follows multiple rounds of layoffs at Paramount prior to the close of its merger with Skydance this summer.

The logo and lettering of Paramount Skydance Corporation can be seen at a Paramount stand at the Media Days in Munich (Bavaria, Germany).
Matthias Balk | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

Paramount Skydance is slashing nearly 1,000 jobs beginning on Wednesday, just months after the close of its merger, according to a person close to the situation. The layoffs will eventually amount to 2,000 roles, the person said.
“When we launched the new Paramount in August, we made clear that building a strong, future-focused company would require significant change – including restructuring the organization,” CEO David Ellison told employees in a memo on Wednesday morning. “As part of that process, we must also reduce the size of our workforce, and we recognize these actions affect our most important asset: our people.”

The merger between Paramount and Skydance closed in August, weeks after receiving long-sought regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission.
Shortly after the deal closed Ellison and Paramount leadership telegraphed the upcoming job cuts, and said it had identified more than $2 billion in cost synergies.
In Wednesday’s memo, Ellison said the cuts would address “redundancies that have emerged across the organization,” as well as “phasing out roles that are no longer aligned with our evolving priorities and the new structure designed to strengthen our focus on growth.”
“Ultimately, these steps are necessary to position Paramount for long-term success,” Ellison said in the memo. The layoffs will occur across the company, which includes CBS News, a portfolio of pay-TV networks and the film studio.
Under Ellison’s leadership Paramount has made a series of changes and deals since the summer — including a 7-year, $7.7 billion media rights deal for TKO Group’s UFC and the acquisition of online publication The Free Press. The company has also made three takeover offers for Warner Bros. Discovery in recent weeks, CNBC previously reported.

While it’s the first round of layoffs for the newly merged company, Paramount had been through a series of employee cuts prior to the deal close. In 2024, Paramount’s prior leadership said it would reduce its U.S.-based workforce by 15%.
In June Paramount cut its U.S.-based staff by 3.5%, or several hundred employees, CNBC reported at the time.
Layoffs have been hitting the media industry broadly in recent months as companies contend with the decline of the traditional pay-TV bundle and macroeconomic headwinds that have weighed on advertising revenue.
— CNBC’s Julia Boorstin contributed to this article. More

General Motors laid off more than 1,700 workers across manufacturing sites in Michigan and Ohio, the company confirmed to CNBC.
The layoffs include jobs at Detroit’s electric vehicle plant and Ohio’s Ultium Cells battery cell plant, in addition to temporary layoffs at Ultium Cells’ Tennessee plant.
The company cited a slowdown in the electric vehicle market.

The Ultium Cell factory in Warren, Ohio, is shown, July 7, 2023.
Gene J. Puskar | AP

General Motors laid off roughly 1,700 workers at manufacturing sites in Michigan and Ohio on Wednesday, citing a slowdown in the electric vehicle market.
The company confirmed there were around 1,200 layoffs at Detroit’s electric vehicle plant and 550 cuts at Ohio’s Ultium Cells battery cell plant, in addition to 850 temporary layoffs at that site in Ohio. The company also said it would temporarily lay off 700 at Ultium Cells’ Tennessee plant.

“In response to slower near-term EV adoption and an evolving regulatory environment, General Motors is realigning EV capacity,” the company said in a statement. “Despite these changes, GM remains committed to our U.S. manufacturing footprint, and we believe our investments and dedication to flexible operations will make GM more resilient and capable of leading through change.”
GM also said battery cell production at its Ohio and Tennessee facilities will be temporarily paused beginning in January. It anticipates resuming operations at both battery cell sites by the middle of 2026 and will use the pause to upgrade its facilities.
Wednesday’s layoffs follow the company saying last week that it would cut more than 200 salaried employees, mostly engineers at its global tech campus in metro Detroit, as part of a restructuring effort.
After September, federal incentives of up to $7,500 to purchase electric vehicles was discontinued, leaving consumers racing to use the benefit before the expiration. Though sales for plug-in vehicles soared to records for many automakers in the third quarter, that demand is expected to decline following the discontinuation.
GM previously reported a more than doubling of sales for electric vehicles during the third quarter from the year prior, a trend other automakers like Ford Motor and Hyundai saw as well.

“We continue to believe that there is a strong future for electric vehicles, and we’ve got a great portfolio to be competitive, but we do have some structural changes that we need to do to make sure that we lower the cost of producing those vehicles,” CFO Paul Jacobson told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau during “Squawk Box” last week.
Still, GM’s third-quarter results last week included a $1.6 billion impact from its all-electric vehicle plans not playing out as anticipated, signaling it was undergoing a reassessment of its EV capacity and manufacturing processes.
The Detroit News first reported on the layoffs. More

Boeing reported higher revenue than last year when production was constrained after a safety crisis and amid a labor strike.
Boeing is on track for its highest airplane deliveries since 2018.
CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took the reins in August 2024, was tasked with improving quality, reliability and safety at Boeing.

A Boeing 777x is displayed during the International Paris Air Show at the Paris-Le Bourget Airport on June 20, 2023.
Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt | AFP | Getty Images

Boeing said Wednesday its jetliner deliveries drove it back into cash-positive territory for the first time in nearly two years, but it took a $4.9 billion charge on additional delays of its long-awaited 777X wide-body plane.
Boeing is on track to deliver the most aircraft this year since 2018, before two crashes grounded its bestselling jetliner, the Covid pandemic hit supply chains and a host of manufacturing crises drove years of losses at the top U.S. exporter.

CEO Kelly Ortberg, an aerospace veteran who came out of retirement to helm Boeing in August 2024, has worked to steady the manufacturer’s sprawling supply chain and cash-generating production lines.
The 777X, an updated version of its 777 plane, took its first flight nearly six years ago but still hasn’t won regulator approval. Boeing says it now expects the first delivery in 2027, leading to the noncash charge.

A Boeing 777x aircraft during an aerial display on the opening day of the Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, UK, on Monday, July 18, 2022.
Jason Alden | Bloomberg | Getty Images

“While there’s still more work to do to advance our development programs, particularly on our commercial development and certification programs, we’re seeing positive signs across our business, and I’m proud of how we are coming together to turn our company around,” Ortberg said in a staff note.
Still, Boeing generated free cash flow of $238 million, its first time in the black on that metric since late 2023.
Boeing lost $4.78 billion, or $7.14 a share, in the three months ended Sept. 30. That’s better than a $5.76 billion loss a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company reported a loss of $7.47 a share. Revenue jumped 30% to $23.27 billion for the third quarter, up from $17.84 billion a year ago and ahead of analysts’ estimates.

A year ago, Boeing machinists were on strike in a contract impasse that crippled production at the majority of the company’s commercial airplane factories.
Here’s how Boeing performed for the third quarter compared with analysts’ estimates compiled by LSEG:

Loss per share: $7.47 per share adjusted vs. a loss of $4.59 expected
Revenue: $23.27 billion vs. $21.97 billion expected

Airline customers have said they’ve seen an improvement at Boeing, with more accurate delivery projections, a change in tune from the complaints of prior years.
In the first nine months of the year, Boeing delivered 440 airplanes, up from 291 in the same period last year. Airlines and other customers pay for the bulk of the planes when they receive them, so increasing the delivery pace is key for Boeing to stem an outflow of cash totaling close to $17 billion since the start of 2024 through June of this year.

Read more CNBC airline news

Last year was supposed to be a turnaround year for Boeing, but a midair blowout of a door panel in January 2024 resulted in a near catastrophe and increased federal scrutiny that slowed production.
But Boeing has made progress. Earlier this month, the Federal Aviation Administration lifted a production cap for Boeing’s 737 Max to 42 a month from 38, a restriction it put in place after the accident.
The FAA is also now allowing Boeing to perform final sign-offs on some of its aircraft, a sign of increased confidence from its regulator.
Boeing’s commercial unit revenue rose 49% from a year earlier to $11.09 billion, though it still had negative operating margins. Its defense unit generated $6.9 billion, up 25% from last year in the third quarter, with a 1.7% operating margin, while its profitable global services business brought in nearly $5.4 billion, a 10% increase.
The company isn’t out of the woods. Its Max 7 and Max 10 variants and the 777X are years behind schedule.
And about 3,200 of its defense unit workers who make F-15 fighter jets and missile systems have been on strike since the summer as the two sides have yet to reach a new contract. More