It's been a disappointing year for (NYSE: BA) shareholders, as the company's operational performance hasn't met expectations. Still, despite the bad news, there's an investment case for the stock for value investors. But is it enough to justify buying the stock? Here's the lowdown. 

Going into the year, investors in Boeing were hoping the company would mark progress in its medium-term aims outlined at its investor conference in November 2022. The key objective stands at hitting $10 billion in free cash flow (FCF) in the 2025 to 2026 time frame. That kind of FCF will help Boeing reduce its considerable debt (currently $52.3 billion). In addition, given that Boeing's market cap now stands at $110.5 billion, it's not difficult for value investors to pencil in a price-to-FCF multiple of 11 times FCF by 2026 and conclude that the stock is an excellent value. Boeing still commands a formidable business moat and a multiyear backlog of orders. 

However, it's one thing to pencil in $10 billion, and it's another thing to believe Boeing will hit the figure. Two things that would have given investors confidence come from achieving two critical things in 2023:

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Source Fool.com