The cash flow and free cash flow play a significant role in the assessment of the financial health of a company. While the two terms are related, they are distinct financial metrics that businesses, investors, and analysts use to measure a company’s liquidity, profitability, and overall financial stability. Cash flow is the movement of cash into and out of the firm, giving a snapshot of operational efficiency and the potential ability to generate revenue. In contrast, free cash flow subtracts capital expenditures from the operating cash flow and determines how much cash that has been generated can be passed on to stakeholders or put back into the business for reinvestment. Understanding the difference between cash flow and free cash flow is important for anyone working with business finance, to make intelligent investment decisions, manage debt, and long-term strategy.
Free Cash Flow vs Cash Flow: Key Difference
Cash flow and free cash flow are terms that people interchangeably use, but each term has a different role in financial analysis. It is the way each takes into account different business expenses and their relevance to ascertaining the viability of a company’s finances that distinguishes between the two.
Aspect
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow
Definition
Cash movement into and out of the business.
Cash left after accounting for capital expenditures.
Inclusion
Includes all cash inflows and outflows (operating, investing, and financing).
Focuses only on operating cash flow after capital expenditures.
Purpose
Measures overall liquidity and operational efficiency.
Shows cash available for growth, debt repayment, and dividends.
Relevance
Useful for assessing a company’s liquidity position.
More relevant for assessing financial flexibility.
Formula
Cash Inflows – Cash Outflows.
Operating Cash Flow – Capital Expenditures.
Significance
Provides a snapshot of cash availability.
Indicates a company’s ability to reinvest or reward stakeholders.
What is Cash Flow?
Cash flow refers to the inflow and outflow of cash into and out of a business. It is an important measure of the financial health of a company, revealing how well a company can generate cash to cover its operating expenses and obligations. Cash flow is an important consideration for both business managers and investors because it provides insights into whether a company can pay its bills, invest in growth, or return value to its shareholders. Understanding cash flow is important because it gives insight into the financial viability of a company. Positive cash flow is necessary to sustain operations, pay debts, and grow the business. Without sufficient cash flow, a company may not be able to meet its obligations, even if it is profitable on paper.
Types of Cash Flow
Cash flow can be broken down into three primary categories:
Operating Cash Flow (OCF): The term operating cash flow is often referred to as the cash a business generates from its core activities like selling goods or services. This measure excludes income derived from investments and financing activities. The positive operating cash flow reflects that the company’s core operations are generating adequate funds to sustain the routine running of the business.
Investing Cash Flow (ICF): Investing cash flow is the cash inflow and outflow resulting from investments in long-term assets, such as buying equipment or land or other business investments whose returns are expected in the future. Negative investing cash flow often suggests that the company is investing in future growth by acquiring assets.
Financing Cash Flow: Financing cash flow represents all the cash that flows from one company to its investors or creditors. It consists of cash generated from issuing shares or borrowing funds and repaid to creditors when a firm pays back loans. Financing cash flow, positively, usually indicates that the issuing company is raising capital. While negative financing cash flow could, for instance, mean the issuer is paying off debt or shares.
Advantages of Cash Flow
Cash flow plays a pivotal role in ensuring the smooth operation and growth of any business. Here are the key advantages of having a strong cash flow:
Liquidity Management: Positive cash flow ensures that a business has enough liquidity to pay for its immediate expenses and obligations, such as salaries, rent, and utility bills. This avoids the potential for a liquidity crisis and ensures that the business can continue to function without interruption.
Business Growth: Cash inflow enables a business to generate cash for reinvestment back into growth opportunities. Expansions into new markets can become possible, or one might purchase more inventory or improved machinery. This will keep your market share at a favorable and increasing level.
Debt Repayment: Healthy cash flow enables businesses to pay all kinds of debt obligations efficiently, making timely interest payments plus principal repayments, to avoid costly penalties or potentially damaging credit ratings.
Investor Confidence: Investors are looking for cash flow as an indication of the company’s sound financial health and stability. A company with positive cash flow is perceived as low-risk and more likely to attract investment.
Flexibility: A business with healthy cash flow is able to adapt to any situation – be it an unpredicted increase in operating expenses or an unexpected drop in revenues. Flexibility is the key to keeping long-term goals on track.
Disadvantages of Cash Flow
While cash flow is essential for the smooth functioning of a business, there are some disadvantages of it:
Does Not Indicate Profitability: Cash flow does not indicate the overall profitability of a company. If a business is unable to grow revenue or is exposed to high costs, it can have cash flow but still be unprofitable.
Focuses on Short-Term Liquidity: Cash flow is short-term in focus rather than long-term financial health. A business could focus too much on short-term inflows and neglect strategic long-term investments.
Can Be Manipulated: Companies can manipulate their cash flow at times through accounting practices, such as delaying payments or accelerating revenue recognition. This makes it important for investors to look beyond just cash flow and analyze other metrics for a comprehensive financial view.
Potential Overlook of Capital Expenditures: Although cash flow gives a good snapshot of operational liquidity, it does not account for necessary capital expenditures that may be essential for sustaining long-term business growth. Without considering these, businesses might neglect to plan for future needs.
Volatility: Cash flow is volatile, especially for seasonal industries or companies with irregular income. This makes it challenging to maintain a rhythm in operations and plan for future growth..
What is Free Cash Flow?
Free cash flow is that cash left after a firm has spent money on the capital expenditures necessary to either maintain or expand its asset base. This is such an important metric because it reflects the amount of cash available to a business to reinvest in its operations, to pay down debt, or to distribute to shareholders as dividends.
Free cash flow is important for investors because it reflects the true financial health of the business. Even though the operating cash flow is very important, free cash flow indicates how much cash the company actually has to finance its activities, pay back debts, or reward its shareholders. Companies that constantly produce positive free cash flows are typically in a very good financial position and able to pay off their obligations as well as invest in the future.
Importance of Free Cash Flow
Free cash flow provides investors with a more accurate picture of the firm’s ability to generate value for shareholders because it accounts for not only the operational performance but also the necessary capital investments in the firm. Positive free cash flow indicates that the firm is generating enough revenue to cover capital expenditures, and negative free cash flow could imply that the firm is very much investing in its future at the cost of having cash immediately available.
Advantages of Free Cash Flow
Free cash flow offers many advantages for businesses and investors alike:
Investment in Growth: When free cash flow positivity occurs, a business entity replenishes with all the essential funds. This enables the venture to plough them into further growth-related operations. Maybe, through developing products, they start venturing into higher market expansion capabilities.
Reduction of Debts: Positive free cash can help lower the amount left unpaid through outstanding debts for the given time, giving an enhanced security profile, improved credit ranking, and diminished cost incurred for borrowed costs.
Dividends and Share Repurchases: Firms generating strong free cash flow can send dividends to the shareholders or buy back their shares to increase shareholder value and also attract investors.
Financial Flexibility: Free cash flow protects businesses from sudden costs, or revenue decline. It will also allow flexibility to grasp strategic opportunities that may surface.
Disadvantages of Free Cash Flow
Despite its many advantages, free cash flow has its own set of limitations:
Capital Expenditures Can Be Volatile: The company’s free cash flow may vary based on capital expenditures. For a company that operates in industries demanding heavy investment in infrastructure, machinery, or technology, free cash flow might look weak even if the company itself is healthy.
Not a Comprehensive Indicator: Free cash flow is a very good indicator of financial health, but it cannot give a comprehensive view of the profitability of a company, market conditions, and potential risks. Evaluate it with other financial metrics.
Short-term focus: Free cash flow is calculated based on short-term operating performance and capital expenditures. It does not consider long-term strategic plans like research and development, which are not likely to provide direct cash flow but are of utmost importance for future growth.
What Are the Similarities Between Cash Flow and Free Cash Flow?
While cash flow and free cash flow are distinct financial metrics, they share several similarities:
Both Track Liquidity: Both cash flow and free cash flow show how liquid a company is toward repayment of liabilities and the running of a business without resorting to finance from other people.
Both Focus on Cash Flow Movement: Both metrics trace inflows and outflows of cash, providing information on where the money goes and the flow of cash through and out of a business. The company has enough money to sustain its business operation.
Critical for Financial Analysis: These are critical tools in the financial analysis. Both cash flow and free cash flow have been used for long to evaluate the company’s financial status and performance by investors, analysts, and business managers.
Free Cash Flow and Cash Flow FAQs
What is the difference between cash flow and free cash flow?
Cash flow includes all cash inflows and outflows, whereas free cash flow specifically focuses on the remaining cash after capital expenditures, highlighting a company’s financial flexibility.
Why is free cash flow more important than cash flow?
Free cash flow is often considered more important because it shows the cash available after necessary capital investments, providing insight into the company’s ability to reinvest, pay off debt, or distribute dividends.
Can a company have positive cash flow but negative free cash flow?
Yes, a company can have positive cash flow but negative free cash flow if it is making substantial capital investments, which can offset the cash generated from operations.
What is considered a good free cash flow?
A good free cash flow depends on the industry, but generally, positive free cash flow indicates that a company can fund its growth, reduce debt, or reward investors.
How do cash flow and free cash flow impact investment decisions?
Investors look at both cash flow and free cash flow to assess a company’s ability to generate liquidity and sustain long-term growth. Free cash flow, in particular, is a strong indicator of a company’s financial stability and potential for growth.