There's no point in sugarcoating matters. It's been a disappointing year so far for (NYSE: BA), and the fact that the stock is still up 11% in 2023 is more a marker of how low investor expectations were going into the year than a vote of confidence in developments this year. That said, there's still a compelling case for the stock. Here's a look at the updates from CFO Brian West's recent presentation at the Jefferies Industrial Conference and what they say about the investment proposition for the stock.

Management set out its stall at its investor conference in November of 2022, making it clear that generating free cash flow (FCF) was its key aim in the coming years -- not least to reduce its debt load and put it in a financial position to potentially invest in developing a new airplane, maybe in a decade. 

The headline targets given in November called for $3 billion to $5 billion in FCF in 2023 and $10 billion at some point between 2025 and 2026, compared to $2.3 billion in 2022. The key drivers of that improvement and what investors need to follow are:

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Source Fool.com