Bruce Andrews, partner, and Joseph Lakaj, analyst, Alderman & Company see positive signs for M&A in the aviation sector as Boeing puts its recent woes behind it under the leadership of new CEO Kelly Ortberg

After several difficult years for Boeing and its global supply chain, 2024 marked a decisive shift in direction, and 2025 is beginning to show the measurable financial impact.

With Kelly Ortberg now in the CEO role, Boeing is demonstrating clearer operational discipline, more credible production plans, and early, tangible steps toward restoring the company’s long-term reputation.

The equity markets have responded: Boeing’s stock price is up 39% this year (at the time of writing this article), a signal that confidence is returning not only to Boeing itself but to the broader aerospace ecosystem.

Ortberg, an engineer by training and an operator by experience, has taken a materially different approach from prior leadership.

His agenda centres on fundamentals: rebuilding Boeing’s production system, elevating quality, stabilising employee morale, and re-establishing trust with suppliers and regulators.

Early wins include renewed FAA confidence, the phased return of self-certification authority on the 737 and 787 programs, and credible production ramps, moving the 737 from 38 to 42 aircraft per month by year-end and gradually increasing 787 outputs through 2026.

For suppliers, this matters immensely. A stable Boeing with predictable volumes is the backbone of valuation growth across the entire commercial aerospace supply chain.

We are seeing that reflected directly in the public markets.  GE Aerospace, often considered a bellwether for the commercial aerospace supply chain stands now at 29× EV/EBITDA, compared with 18× a year ago.

These shifts are re-rating the industry based on forward visibility, pricing power, and the expectation of sustained demand.

As middle market M&A Bankers, for nearly 25 years we have maintained a proprietary database, for the use of our clients, with extensive data on valuation multiples of private transactions across almost every niche of the aerospace & defence industry.

As we have seen in every cycle, as valuations rise at the top, multiples expand the supply chain. Tier-2 and Tier-3 suppliers, many of whom endured years of volatility, labour shortages, and supply constraints, are finally benefiting from clearer order books and increased investor appetite.

In the lower middle market of the commercial aviation market, we are now seeing a meaningful shift upward: both strategic and financial buyers are underwriting higher base growth assumptions across the Boeing supply chain, placing greater confidence in seller presented backlogs, and becoming more confident in historic performance as pandemic-era disruptions are falling off the historic presented years in seller marketing materials.

This is translating into higher valuations downstream. Multiples for well-positioned machining, components, assemblies, and niche subsystem suppliers are drifting upward, and processes that would have struggled to attract broad interest two years ago are now drawing competitive attention.

A key driver is confidence that Boeing is regaining its footing, provided schedules to suppliers are real, and that the supply chain has years of growth ahead.

The aerospace recovery is not linear, and Boeing’s long-term transformation is still in progress. But for owners of middle-market aerospace and defence businesses, the trend is clear: improving OEM stability is lifting the entire sector.

With public-market leaders expanding to historically strong valuation levels and buyers actively seeking exposure to the commercial aerospace cycle, now is an exciting time to be considering a sale or recapitalisation of a US-based aerospace business.