3 Things to Watch With This Dow Stock

The following video is part of our "Motley Fool Conversations" series, in which consumer-goods editor and analyst Austin Smith discusses topics around the investing world.

In today's edition, Austin discusses three things investors need to watch if they're considering an investment in Boeing. As the world's largest aircraft manufacturer, Boeing has operations spanning the globe, but it's also heavily exposed to the macro economy. Macro factors most affecting it are GDP growth, fuel costs, and growth in China. To determine whether it can keep operations ticking, you have to keep an eye on its backlog and the orders it fills.

Another key trend to watch will be defense and budget cuts from the federal government. Despite reducing its reliance on the defense budget in the past, Boeing still has a lot of exposure to the industry, and if the ax falls to hard here, expect Boeing's bottom line to get dinged. While not an exhaustive list, these three trends are important to all Boeing investors today.

Boeing, like many other American companies, realizes that its most impressive growth in the future won't be coming from our shores. That's why it's underlined China as a crucial market for air travel in the future. To learn about more companies that are going abroad in a big way, you can read "3 Companies Set to Dominate the World." It's a special free report penned by our analysts, but it won't be available forever, so click here to learn more now

At the time thisarticle was published Austin Smith owns no shares of the companies listed here. The Motley Fool owns shares of Lockheed Martin. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

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