Free cash flow (FCF) is the cash a company generates from operations after paying for the investments needed to maintain and grow its asset base (capital expenditures). It's the cash actually available to pay down debt, return to shareholders, or reinvest — often seen as a purer signal of financial health than reported earnings.
FCF = Operating Cash Flow − Capital Expenditures
Positive and growing FCF suggests a company funds itself and has flexibility. Negative FCF isn't always bad — it can reflect heavy growth investment — but persistent negative FCF without a clear payoff is a warning. Compare FCF to net income to check earnings quality.
A company with $80 million in operating cash flow that spends $30 million on capital expenditures has FCF of 80 − 30 = $50 million available for debt, dividends, buybacks or reinvestment.
Fin Screener factors free cash flow into its valuation and health analysis for each stock, and offers it as a screening filter to favour genuinely cash-generative companies.
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