Boeing shares have rallied more than 100 percent in the past 12 months, and CEO Dennis Muilenburg told CNBC on Thursday he isn't surprised.
"What you see now is the market responding to a fundamentally very strong airplane market," Muilenburg said on "Squawk on the Street."
Boeing also has been able to deliver on the financial goals it has set for itself.
The company delivered a record 763 aircraft in 2017. In its fourth-quarter earnings report last month, Boeing said it expects to set another record this year, estimating it will deliver 810 to 815 commercial aircraft in 2018.
In the most recent quarter, Boeing saw each of its three businesses increase its orders further, bring the value of the company's total orders backlog to $488 billion.
The aerospace market as a whole "has changed," according to Muilenburg. He said the industry has gone "from being a high-cycle business in the past" to now becoming "a long-term sustained growth business."
The higher stock price may reflect that Wall Street is now recognizing the shift and is changing both its "attitude and perspective," he said.
Companies that produce more sustained earnings growth often fetch higher stock valuations than those with earnings growth that fluctuates with the ups and downs of an economic cycle.
Boeing's stock has risen more than 109 percent as of Wednesday's close and has added nearly 18 percent just this year.