This Planemaker Wants Its Comeback Story at Cruising Altitude

This planemaker finally gave investors what they wanted to hear: more jets out the door in 2026 and a path to real free cash flow.

After years of turbulence, even cautious optimism can move the stock.

If narrow-body output climbs and the 787 line keeps humming, margins and sentiment both improve. Let’s taxi through today.

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Packaging Corp of America | PKG

Price: $196.63

A box isn’t just a box when demand softens. Managers are dialing back near-term expectations for corrugated shipments, and that dinged the shares.

The bigger picture is still tied to e-commerce and industrial activity, but when surveys shift from getting better to meh, pricing power and mill utilization come under the microscope. 

PCA’s balance sheet and dividend help you wait, yet the next few quarters likely ride on whether holiday restocking actually materializes or gets pushed.

Why it matters for you: Keep an eye on box shipments and published price moves. If volumes stabilize after December and inventories look lean, this pullback can turn into an entry point.

International Paper | IP

Price: $39.13

Closing plants in Compton and Louisville is never fun, but it’s the kind of cleanup that can reshape the cost base.

Management is trying to swap older, expensive tonnage for fewer, more efficient assets while redirecting capital to reliability and automation.

The share price says show me as it’s down hard for the year, but the fat dividend pays you to let the story breathe.

Execution is everything. Fewer outages, better mix, and proof that closures translate into margin, not lost customers.

Why it matters for you: Track downtime, conversion costs, and any color on net pricing. If the margin math actually shows up, the multiple has room to heal.

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AppLovin | APP

Price: $683.78

Back to beast mode after a sharp autumn reset. Q3 was loud — revenue up big, margins eye-popping, buybacks juicing EPS — and the AXON engine keeps doing what advertisers want most: better performance with fewer hands on the knobs.

Two caveats sit in the back seat: an SEC look at data practices and a flurry of insider sales. Neither has changed the trajectory yet, but they raise the bar for steady execution.

In the meantime, the print-and-profit combo is exactly what fast-money funds chase into year-end.

Why it matters for you: Watch for any updates on the inquiry and whether growth stays broad-based. If the legal noise stays quiet and cash flow stays loud, momentum can run.

Teradyne | TER

Price: $198.63

Five straight green days and a fresh leg higher off strong orders.

The test story is simple: AI chips are more complex, memory is hotter, and that pushes test intensity up and to the right.

When orders lead sales, visibility improves and guide raises tend to follow. 

The knock is valuation as it isn’t cheap, but in cycle turns, the market often pays for scarcity and leverage to AI hardware.

Why it matters for you: Focus on memory test and system-level test updates. If Q4 lands near that big sequential growth guide, dips will be brief.

Boeing | BA

Price: $201.87

The CFO’s message was clear, as deliveries on the 737 and 787 are set to grow next year, defense and space should stop tripping over themselves, and the company still aims for that headline $10B free cash flow mark. 

The to-do list is long with quality control, supply chain, and certification cadence, but the setup is finally about offense instead of damage control.

Airlines still need lift, backlogs are deep, and every incremental unit off the line drops meaningful cash once rework fades.

Why it matters for you: Watch monthly deliveries and rework commentary. If output creeps up without fresh fixes, the stock usually follows.

📊 Stat of the Day: 52.1

China’s private services PMI slipped to 52.1 in November, the lowest in five months. Still expanding, just slower.

Softer services growth can ripple into global goods demand and packaging volumes, while any U.S.–China trade calm helps export orders.

For portfolios, it argues for a quality cyclicals portion with backlog (Boeing, NXP-exposed names) and steady cash engines (select insurers, staples) while you wait for China’s next pulse.

Final Take

Boeing finally sounds like a company planning growth instead of apologies.

Packaging Corp and International Paper are doing the unglamorous work that makes margins better six months from now. 

AppLovin reminded everyone that profits plus buybacks are still a cheat code, and Teradyne is riding the test everything wave of the AI build-out.

Keep overweight on real backlogs, real cash, and real operating leverage. Add on red, sip coffee on green, and let execution do the talking.