Coincidentally, Boeing's being investigated by the SEC for their bizarre program accounting to answer this exact question. http://www.seattletimes.com/business

Coincidentally, Boeing's being investigated by the SEC for their bizarre program accounting to answer this exact question. http://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/report-boeing-faces-sec-probe-of-dreamliner-747-accounting/ http://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/report... The "never make a profit" line is probably a tax-deferral strategy which is reflected by their stock price increasing ~100% in the past 5 years. Not exactly the performance you'd expect of a floundering company.