Both stocks give investors exposure to the aerospace and defense market, and Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX) is a major supplier to Boeing (NYSE: BA). So a comparison of the two companies is handy for considering investing in the sectors. With this frame of mind, here's a look at which stock is the better buy right now. 

The investment case for the aerospace giant is based on a self-help story. Management has set a goal of hitting $10 billion in free cash flow (FCF) between 2025 and 2026, and it's the progress toward getting to that target that investors should judge the stock on. To reach the $10 billion, Boeing will need to ramp up production of its 737 airplane from 400-450 in 2023 to 50 a month, or 600 a year. Moreover, it will need to avoid any more costly charges on some of the fixed-price defense contracts it's had problems with in recent times.

Doing so is easier said than done, due to the substantive supply chain issues that negatively impact the industry. That said, key aerospace suppliers like Raytheon and General Electric (the engine supplier on the 737 MAX) are saying conditions are improving, and Boeing's management seems to be taking a cautious approach. Meanwhile, regarding its defense segment, at a recent investor conference CFO Brian West told investors that Boeing took "a pretty big step to derisk those" in 2022 and "while you could never eliminate risk, we did our very best on the very big assumptions to retire as much risk as we could." 

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Source Fool.com