GE Aerospace's LEAP Engine Deliveries Jumped 41% This Year. Here's Why Boeing and Airbus Both Need That Number to Keep Climbing.
LEAP engines are arguably the single most important pieces of equipment for the commercial aerospace industry.
Overview
GE Aerospace's (NYSE: GE) joint venture with France's Safran, CFM International, manufactures the LEAP engine, which is the sole engine option on the Boeing (NYSE: BA) 737 MAX and one of two options for powering the Airbus A320neo family of aircraft. It's the most critical component of the global supply chain for the commercial aerospace industry, so the fact that LEAP engine deliveries are ramping up reflects strength across the industry as a whole. Still, it comes with nuances that investors need to consider.
Both aircraft manufacturers have multiyear backlogs for their most important jets, namely the 737 MAX and A320neo narrowbodies, which are the workhorses of global commercial aviation. For example, Boeing currently has a firm backlog of 4,381 orders for the 737 MAX, and given that it has only just increased its production rate for the aircraft to 47 per month, that backlog represents 7.8 years of work at the current rate. Airbus has an order backlog of about 7,500 A320s, and based on its target of producing at least 70 a month by the end of 2027, this backlog amounts to almost 9 years of production.
Details
The good news is that CFM International is ramping up deliveries of its LEAP engines -- it delivered 41% more in the first half of 2026 than in the same period in 2025 -- following a difficult period during which supply-chain bottlenecks created significant challenges for the aerospace industry. Simply put, Boeing and Airbus won't be able to further ramp up their production rates and clear their backlogs (note that backlogs grow when the manufacturers receive new orders that exceed their pace of deliveries) unless CFM delivers more engines.
Source
Originally published at www.fool.com.