The Boeing Company (/ˈboʊ.ɪŋ/) is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, and satellites worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support services. Boeing is among the largest global aircraft manufacturers, is the second-largest defense contractor in the world based on 2013 revenue, and is the largest exporter in the United States by dollar value. Boeing stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The Boeing Company's corporate headquarters are located in Chicago and the company is led by President and CEO Dennis Muilenburg. Boeing is organized into five primary divisions: Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA); Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS); Engineering, Operations & Technology; Boeing Capital; and Boeing Shared Services Group. In 2015, Boeing recorded $96.11 billion in sales, ranked 27th on the Fortune magazine "Fortune 500" list (2015), ranked 90th on the "Fortune Global 500" list (2015), and ranked 27th on the "World's Most Admired Companies" list (2015).
In May 2006, four concept designs being examined by Boeing were outlined in The Seattle Times based on corporate internal documents. The research aims in two directions: low-cost airplanes, and environmental-friendly planes. Codenamed after the well-known Muppets, a design team known as the Green Team concentrated primarily on reducing fuel usage. All four designs illustrated rear-engine layouts. "Fozzie" employs open rotors and offers a lower cruising speed. "Beaker" has very thin, long wings, with the ability to partially fold-up to facilitate easier taxiing. "Kermit Kruiser" has forward swept wings over which are positioned its engines, with the aim of lowering noise below due to the reflection of the exhaust signature upward. "Honeydew" with its delta wing design, resembles a marriage of the flying wing concept and the traditional tube fuselage. As with most concepts, these designs are only in the exploratory stage, intended to help Boeing evaluate the potentials of such radical technologies. Boeing recently patented its own force field technology, also known as the shock wave attenuation system, that would protect vehicles from shock waves generated by nearby explosions. Boeing has yet to confirm when they plan to build and test the technology.
In 2010, Boeing completed its acquisition of Argon ST Inc. Based in Fairfax, Virginia, Argon ST develops C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) and combat systems. On June 30, 2010, Boeing announced its intent to acquire Argon ST as part of the company's strategy to expand its capabilities to address the C4ISR, cyber and intelligence markets. On November 17, 2011, it was reported that Lion Air has committed to ordering 201 Boeing 737 MAX and 29 737-900ER airliners. This order, when finalized, is worth $21.7 billion at list prices. This is larger than any of Boeing's previous commercial aircraft sales. The deal includes options for a further 150 airliners.
On January 5, 2012, Boeing announced plans to close its facilities in Wichita, Kansas with 2,160 workers before 2014, more than 80 years after it was established. Boeing had employed as many as 40,000 people there. Boeing announced on May 13, 2013 it would cut 1,500 IT jobs in Seattle, Washington over the next three years in combination of layoffs, attrition and relocation. Most of those will be relocated (approximately 600 jobs each) to St. Louis, Missouri, and North Charleston, South Carolina. The company announced a 26 percent increase in profits—US$1.23 billion total—for Q4 2013, citing higher demand for commercial aircraft.
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