Why Is Boeing Stock Moving Today? The FAA Certified the 737 MAX 10 on October 20, 2026

Boeing stock moved little after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified the 737 MAX 10, the largest member of the 737 MAX family, on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. The approval crossed the MoveSurge news feed at 15:31:00 ET with Boeing at $190.69. The stock rose 0.26% to $191.19 within a minute, then slipped to $190.02 after ten minutes, down 0.35%. The chart's last candle, 13 minutes after the headline, closed at $189.97, down 0.38%, and the regular session ended down 0.5%, according to Stocktwits.

The approval clears the way for deliveries that Boeing originally planned for 2020. Boeing said deliveries will begin in the coming months and that the jet has 1,555 orders from more than 30 customers, over 30% of its 737 MAX order book. The certification was widely expected: an AP report that the FAA was moving to approve the plane reached our news feed at 12:15:16 ET, more than three hours earlier.

Why the MAX 10 took so long

1. June 19, 2017: Boeing launched the MAX 10 at the Paris Air Show, aiming for entry into service in 2020.
2. December 2022: Congress exempted the MAX 7 and MAX 10 from a new cockpit-alerting deadline, on condition that Boeing add extra safety features and retrofit them to earlier MAX jets.
3. 2023: An engine anti-ice problem, in which the engine inlet could overheat, became the main source of delay, Reuters reported.
4. August 3, 2026: The FAA certified the smaller MAX 7.
5. October 2, 2026: The FAA ruled that a navigation software glitch found in late September was not a flight-safety issue and did not need fixing before certification. Our report on that ruling covers the stock's reaction.
6. October 20, 2026: The FAA issued the amended type certificate for the MAX 10.

Boeing said the MAX 10 is the first airliner certified under the full 2020 aircraft safety law that Congress passed after the two MAX crashes. Its certification program included nearly 1,000 test flights.

What happens next

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNBC, "We have to certify aircraft more quickly if we're going to compete as Americans." Boeing's Mike Sinnett said Canadian and European approval would take "probably a couple months," which matters for airlines outside the US. Alaska Air Group said it expects its first MAX 10 in the second quarter of 2027. Boeing reports third-quarter results on October 27.

Earlier in October, Boeing's engineers ratified their SPEEA union contracts. The stock rose 1.19% in a minute on that news, then faded.