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What is Free Cash Flow (FCF), and why it's important in any business operation?

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Question added by Rogelio Balolot , Chef , La Cuisine French Restaurant
Date Posted: 2015/02/22
wasim Jwiehan
by wasim Jwiehan , Sales Manager , Zamil Group Holding Company

 

 

In corporate finance, free cash flow (FCF) or free cash flow to firm (FCFF) is a way of looking at a business's cash flow to see what is available for distribution among all the securities holders of a corporate entity. This may be useful to parties such as equity holders, debt holders, preferred stock holders, convertible security holders, and so on when they want to see how much cash can be extracted from a company without causing issues to its operations.

The free cash flow can be calculated in a number of different ways depending on audience and what accounting information is available. A common definition is to take the earnings before interest after taxes, add any depreciation & Amortization, and then subtract any changes in working capital and capital expenditure. Depending on the audience, a number of refinements and adjustments may also be made to try to eliminate distortions. source wiki

 

 

to let the business funtion and operate smoothly to finance the needs and purchase

Irina Ter-Grikurova
by Irina Ter-Grikurova , Business Development Manager , Geostar LTD Georgia

It is how much cash you have to work with after all your bills are paid. That's why serious decreasing of this parameter is showing that difficult times are awaiting the company. It shows if you can expand your company right now or it is not right time for it.

Shahbaz Hayder
by Shahbaz Hayder , Group Head of Finance , Sharif Group of Companies

Free Cash Flows are the cash flow available for distribution to stakeholders.

 

There are two most commonly used types of Free Cash Flows.

Free Cash Flows for Equity-Holders and

Free Cash Flows for Debt-Holders

 

Free Cash Flows for Equity-Holders tells us how much cash can be distributed to the equity shareholders of the company as dividends or stock buybacks — after all expenses, reinvestments, and debt repayments are taken care of.

 

While Free Cash Flows for Debt-Holders tells us how much cash is available for debt holders before cash payment to equity holders.

dawar ul haq
by dawar ul haq , manager , nudrat &co

A measure of financial performance calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. Free cash flow (FCF) represents the cash that a company is able to generate after laying out the money required to maintain or expand its asset base. Free cash flow is important because it allows a company to pursue opportunities that enhance shareholder value. Without cash, it's tough to develop new products, make acquisitions, pay dividends and reduce debt. FCF is calculated as:EBIT(1-Tax Rate) + Depreciation & Amortization - Change in Net Working Capital - Capital ExpenditureIt can also be calculated by taking operating cash flow and subtracting capital expenditures.

 

 

Rogelio Balolot
by Rogelio Balolot , Chef , La Cuisine French Restaurant

FCF - A measure of financial performance that expresses the net amount of cash that is generated for the firm, consisting of expenses, taxes and changes in net working capital and investments.This is a measurement of a company's profitability after all expenses and reinvestments. It's one of the many benchmarks used to compare and analyze financial health. However, a  positive value would indicate that the firm has cash left after expenses. A negative value, on the other hand, would indicate that the firm has not generated enough revenue to cover its costs and investment activities. In that instance, an investor should dig deeper to assess why this is happening - it could be a sign that the company may have some deeper problems.

Jayaprakash Ramachandra
by Jayaprakash Ramachandra , Manager , Best Clean Care General Trading

This is the measurement of companies profitabality after all expenses and reinvestments.

This will indicate positive or negetive value that shows companie are having enough revenue to cover the cost and investment activities. We can go further to find out why negitive ,how to stop the loss  and  this can be analysed for all business operations and corrections can be carried out.

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