AA
AAPL
FY2023 Q1
FY2023 Q1 ended 2022-12-31

Apple Inc. stock research

Apple (AAPL) FY2023 Q1 Free Cash Flow

Revenue and operating cash flow increased compared to the prior quarter, but decreased year-over-year. Free cash flow margin improved sequentially yet remained below the year-ago level.

Free cash flow takeaway

A quick read on the company's cash generation and what it means for investors.

Revenue and operating cash flow increased compared to the prior quarter, but decreased year-over-year. Free cash flow margin improved sequentially yet remained below the year-ago level.

  • Operating cash flow was converted to free cash flow after capital expenditure, with the free cash flow margin reflecting the proportion of revenue retained as free cash flow.
  • Compared to the immediately preceding quarter, free cash flow was higher and the margin improved. Versus the same quarter one year earlier, both free cash flow and margin were lower.

FCF snapshot

Quarterly and TTM cash-flow metrics with the minimum valuation context.

TTM free cash flow

$97.5B

Trailing twelve-month free cash flow.

Quarter free cash flow

$30.2B

Free cash flow in the selected fiscal quarter.

Operating cash flow

$34.0B

Cash generated by operations before capital spending.

CapEx

$3.8B

Capital spending and related asset purchases.

FCF margin

25.8%

The share of revenue converted into free cash flow.

Cash flow trend

A short quarterly history shows whether FCF is scaling with revenue or only spiking for one period.

PeriodRevenueOperating CFCapExFCFFCF margin
2022-03-26$97.3B$28.2B$2.5B$25.7B26.4%
2022-06-25$83.0B$22.9B$2.1B$20.8B25.1%
2022-09-24$90.1B$24.1B$3.3B$20.8B23.1%
2022-12-31$117.2B$34.0B$3.8B$30.2B25.8%

Cash conversion quality

Checks that separate high-quality free cash flow from accounting noise or working-capital timing.

FCF / net income100.7%Shows whether accounting earnings convert into cash.
CapEx / revenue3.2%Lower capital intensity usually supports FCF margin.
Net cash-$88.9BCash and equivalents minus total debt.

Recent events shaping cash flow

Near-term business events that help explain the free cash flow result.

Supportive

Sequential revenue growth

Revenue increased from the prior quarter, which was the most significant observable change among the reported metrics. This supported higher operating cash flow and free cash flow.

The sequential revenue growth was the primary factor behind the improvement in free cash flow and margin compared to the prior quarter.

What the cash flow says

How to interpret the company's free cash flow beyond the headline number.

Operating cash flow was converted to free cash flow after capital expenditure, with the free cash flow margin reflecting the proportion of revenue retained as free cash flow.

Compared to the immediately preceding quarter, free cash flow was higher and the margin improved. Versus the same quarter one year earlier, both free cash flow and margin were lower.

Monitor the trajectory of free cash flow margin relative to the year-ago period, as it declined while revenue also decreased.