after years of stumbles and weak results boeing said wednesday it expects to return at middecade to operational health and a more robust financial performance the aerospace giant  which has reported losses the last three years  guided investors to 202526 as the timeframe when they should expect a strong financial performance resembling those the company posted prior to the 737 max and covid19 crises investors cheered the outlook sending shares up nearly six percent at one point as boeing signaled a more normal level of production and plane deliveries within the foreseeable future we are on the right path to return to the operational and financial strength we expect of ourselves said chief executive dave calhoun at the outset of the companys first investor day since 2016 boeings difficult period began in october 2018 with a deadly lion air crash of the 737 max the first of two fatal crashes of the plane that together claimed nearly 350 lives and led to a global grounding of more than a year and a half the companys problems mushroomed when the coronavirus pandemic decimated global travel beginning in 2020 demand has recovered strongly and the max has been cleared for service by most leading regulators but boeing has struggled to fully exploit the improving environment due in part to supply chain problems and heavier scrutiny from us air safety regulators these issues have forced the company to curtail production and delayed the certification of new aircraft the forecast released wednesday includes a gradual improvement in boeing plane deliveries and production in 2023 and 2024 and hitting its stride after that boosting revenues the company projected free cash flow a closelywatched benchmark of financial health rising in 2023 to 35 billion from the 152 billion range in 2022 it said free cash flow will surge to around 10 billion in 2024 and 2026 much closer to the 136 billion boeing notched in 2018