In most industries, a $262 billion order backlog is a reason for panic. In the airplane industry, it's reason to rejoice, and this result has Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) celebrating a great first quarter 2007 earnings report. The company posted $1.13 earnings per share, as earnings increased 27% to $877 million. The earning were considerably above the $1.01 forecast reported by Thomson Financial.

Revenue for the period was up 8%, to $15.4 billion. Planes deliveries in the quarter were also up 8%, to 106. Thanks in part to rising oil prices, Boeing's confirmed orders for its new fuel-efficient Dreamliner 787 have reached a whopping 544 from 44 customers. The first production 787 is scheduled to roll off the assembly line in July, and go into service in May of 2008.

Revenues from Boeing Integrated Defense Systems also finished up by 7%, with operating earnings of $784 million and an operating margin of 10.2%.

The company expects to deliver 440+ commercial planes this year. However, Boeing's guidance for 2007 revenues remained unchanged at $64.5-65 billion, and $71-72 billion for 2008. Still, analysts had expected a bump up of 2007 and 2008 estimates, and the market expressed its disappointment with a slight decline in the stock price. Nonetheless, Boeing has enjoyed strong growth for the last six months, up 20% for the period.

Remember several years ago when Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) could do no right? It was losing ground to Airbus, losing military contracts to rivals and in one corporate mishap after another. Times sure have changed.

Boeing is expected to report a strong fourth quarter on Jan. 31. Analysts expect the company to report profit of 97 cents versus 58 cents a year earlier. The company stampeded past analysts' forecast in the third quarter. The stock is up more than 10 percent in the last six months.

Last year was a great year for Boeing. The Chicago-based company got 1,044 firm orders for commercial aircraft, which likely helped it top Airbus for the first time since 2000. This performance, which was helped by demand for the 787 Dreamliner, stunned analysts, who had expected sales to SLOW DOWN, according to Reuters.

The Dreamliner is a key product for Boeing. In fact, concerns raised by an analyst about possible delays and cost overruns related to the aircraft recently sent Boeing's stock tumbling. Boeing's shares recovered after Wall Street analysts said they thought the development of the aircraft was proceeding on schedule. Deliveries are scheduled to begin next year.

The military side of the business also is humming along. In November, A Boeing-lead team beat Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT) for a major helicopter contract with the U.S. Air Force

How long the good times will last isn't clear. Douglas McIntyre argues that 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 your thoughts on earnings expectations.