Boeing shares jumped today as the world's largest planemaker raised its profit and cash flow expectations for 2019 amid a boom in air travel.
Boeing also indicated that it had overcome supplier delays that snarled 737 production last year.
The Chicago-based firm said it expects to deliver between 895 and 905 commercial aircraft in 2019.
This was up from 806 aircraft it delivered last year, which - although just below target - kept it ahead of rival Airbus for a seventh year in a row.
Investors closely watch the number of planes Boeing turns over to airlines and leasing firms in a year for hints on the company's cash flow and revenue.
Despite its rosy outlook, America's biggest exporter faces possible turbulence on a number of fronts in 2019.
This includes financial stress felt by some of its airline customers, signs of a broader economic slowdown and US trade tensions with China, where Boeing ships one out of four aircraft that it makes.
There are also unanswered questions related to the deadly crash of a Lion Air 737 MAX in Indonesia in October that thrust a spotlight on the newest version of the best-selling jet, as well as on airline training and maintenance.
Boeing raised its full-year core earnings per share forecast to $19.90-$20.10 from $14.90-$15.10.
It also raised its revenue forecast to a range of $109.5 billion to $111.5 billion, from $98 billion to $100 billion, fueled by strong volume across its commercial, military and services businesses.
Boeing said its quarterly operating margin on commercial aircraft increased to 15.6% from 11.6% from a year ago, driven by higher 737 production and higher margins on its high-tech 787 Dreamliner widebody.
Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg said the company's performance provides a "firm platform" to further invest in new innovation as the aviation industry is awaiting a 2019 decision on whether Boeing will move ahead with a new mid-sized aircraft dubbed NMA.
It also said the first all-new 777X widebody flight test airplane completed final body join and power-on, and the programme remains on track for flight testing this year and first delivery in 2020.
The company forecast operating cash flow between $17 billion and $17.5 billion in 2019, compared with cash flow of $15.32 billion in 2018, and above analysts' average estimate of $16.73 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
It expects 2019 core earnings between $19.90 per share and $20.10 per share, and revenue between $109.5 billion and $111.5 billion.
Those numbers indicate Boeing has largely surmounted delays getting fuselages and engines for its best-selling 737 narrowbody which snarled production over the past year.
Even so, related production logjams dragged down quarterly free cash flow to $2.45 billion, below the previous year.
Boeing's core earnings rose to $5.48 per share in the fourth quarter, from $5.07 per share a year earlier, and came in above Wall Street's estimate of $4.57 per share.
Its quarterly revenue rose 14.4% to $28.34 billion, above analysts' average expectation of $26.87 billion.
Boeing's 2018 revenue surpassed the $100 billion mark for the first time in its 102-year history.
