BF
BF-B
Jul 31, 2023
Quarter ended Jul 31, 2023 · FY2024 Q1

Brown-Forman Corporation stock research

Brown-Forman (BF-B) Free Cash Flow — Quarter Ended Jul 31, 2023

Free cash flow turned negative as operating cash flow declined sharply while capital expenditure rose. Revenue was stable, but the cash conversion weakened significantly compared to both the prior quarter and the same quarter last year.

Free cash flow takeaway

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

Free cash flow turned negative as operating cash flow declined sharply while capital expenditure rose. Revenue was stable, but the cash conversion weakened significantly compared to both the prior quarter and the same quarter last year.

  • Revenue was unchanged, yet operating cash flow fell substantially and capital expenditure increased, resulting in negative free cash flow and a negative free cash flow margin.
  • Compared to the immediately preceding quarter, operating cash flow and free cash flow were both lower, and the free cash flow margin weakened from positive to negative. Versus the same quarter one year earlier, operating cash flow and free cash flow were also lower, and the margin turned negative.

FCF snapshot

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

TTM free cash flow

$306.0M

Trailing twelve-month free cash flow.

Quarter free cash flow

-$11.0M

Free cash flow in the selected fiscal quarter.

Operating cash flow

$38.0M

Cash generated by operations before capital spending.

CapEx

$49.0M

Capital spending and related asset purchases.

FCF margin

-1.1%

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
2022-10-31$1.1B$143.0M$28.0M$115.0M10.5%
2023-01-31$1.1B$94.0M$55.0M$39.0M3.6%
2023-04-30$1.0B$230.0M$67.0M$163.0M15.6%
2023-07-31$1.0B$38.0M$49.0M-$11.0M-1.1%

Cash conversion quality

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

FCF / net income-4.8%Shows whether accounting earnings convert into cash.
CapEx / revenue4.7%Lower capital intensity usually supports FCF margin.
Net cash-$2.3BCash and equivalents minus total debt.

Recent events shaping cash flow

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

Watch

Operating Cash Flow Decline

Operating cash flow was substantially lower than both the prior quarter and the year-ago quarter, while revenue was stable. This was the strongest observable driver of the negative free cash flow.

The decline in operating cash flow was the primary factor turning free cash flow negative.

What the cash flow says

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

Revenue was unchanged, yet operating cash flow fell substantially and capital expenditure increased, resulting in negative free cash flow and a negative free cash flow margin.

Compared to the immediately preceding quarter, operating cash flow and free cash flow were both lower, and the free cash flow margin weakened from positive to negative. Versus the same quarter one year earlier, operating cash flow and free cash flow were also lower, and the margin turned negative.

Monitor whether operating cash flow recovers toward prior levels in the coming quarter.