Boeing takes off

Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) had a great fourth quarter.

Net income was $989 million, or $1.29 per share, compared with $460 million, or 58 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding some items, profit was $1.16. On that basis, it was expected to earn 97 cents per share, according to Reuters. Sales gained 17 percent to $26.5 billion.

Boeing beat Airbus in commerical orders, delivers and backlogs for the first time since 2001, according to Bloomberg News. The company boosted its 2007 guidance to $4.55 to $4.75 and forecasted it would earn between $5.55 to $5.75 in 2008. Revenue is expected to be $64.5 billion to $65 billion this year and $71 billion to $72 billion.

Earnings were solid across the board. Commercial Aircraft revenue rose 37 percent to $7.6 billion driven by higher deliveries and service revenue. The backlog rose 40 percent to $174 billion, fueled by demand for the 787 Dreamliner. Integrated Defense systems revenue jumped 18 percent to $9.7 billion.

Blogging Stocks readers were optimistic; out of 386 votes in our readers poll, 80% were for Boeing to beat expectations.

Boeing still has its challenges though. The company's powerful unions are going to want to share in the growing profits. Plus, Airbus may be down but it's far from out.

Also check out some other earnings reports that we're following, and let us know what you're expecting.