GE Aerospace Chief Financial Officer Rahul Ghai expects about $300 million more in GE9X profit drag in 2027 than in 2026 as engine deliveries for Boeing’s 777X rise, he said on an Oct. 20 earnings call.
Ghai expects the cost of each engine to fall again next year. He said the increase in deliveries would outweigh that improvement and deepen the program’s losses. The $300 million measures the added effect on profit from one year to the next; it is not a forecast of GE9X’s entire loss in 2027.
The GE9X powers Boeing’s 777X. GE Aerospace has delivered engines fitted with an upgraded mid-seal and aims to obtain Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification for the component by the end of 2026. The company plans to recognize the financial impact of third-quarter GE9X shipments after certification.
The engine outlook adds a specific cost pressure to GE Aerospace’s broader increase in its 2026 earnings forecast. Third-quarter orders rose 49% from a year earlier to about $19 billion, and the company raised its adjusted earnings forecast to $8.00-$8.10 per share from $7.65-$7.85.
For 2027, Ghai expects commercial services and Defense & Propulsion Technologies to support profit growth, partly offset by original equipment. He expects overall margins to remain roughly in line with 2026, when the company maintained margins during the GE9X ramp.
Chairman and CEO H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., has said a commercial services backlog exceeding $170 billion supports the company’s expectation of low-double-digit sales growth in that business next year. GE Aerospace plans to provide fuller 2027 guidance with its January earnings.
