NEW YORK (AP) -- A strike at Boeing Co. could cost the airplane manufacturer $2.3 billion in revenue in the third quarter, an analyst said Monday.
The Machinists union, which bargains on behalf of about 27,000 workers, went on strike Saturday after workers rejected Boeing's contract in a dispute mainly over job security.
The strike could cut revenue by $100 million to $110 million a day if it lasts as long as the 28 to 69 days in previous strikes by the International Association of Machinists, Cai von Rumohr, an analyst at Cowen and Co., wrote in a note to clients.
"It seems unlikely that after extensive negotiation, either side is apt to change enough to reach an agreement before three to four weeks," he wrote.
However, von Rumohr said that even if the strike lasts three months, Boeing will not likely lose business because Airbus has a backlog of between four and seven years.
In previous Machinists' strikes, Boeing's share price dropped between 3 percent and 6 percent from the start of the strike until its mid-strike low, which generally was several weeks before it ended, he said.
"Because the stock has declined 5 percent in the last five trading days (versus) a 3 percent dip for the S&P 500, the strike's impact already may be in Boeing's price," von Rumohr said.
Analyst Myles Walton of Oppenheimer & Co. said the last four strikes have averaged more than 45 days. The most recent strike in 2005 lasted less than a month and cost Boeing 33 cents in earnings per share and $2.2 billion in sales.
Production rates now are 50 percent higher, which would cost 50 cents per share and $3.3 billion in sales if a strike lasted one month, he said.
Shares of Boeing traded at $62.55, down 34 cents in morning trading.