Free cash flow takeaway
A quick read on the company's cash generation and what it means for investors.
Cash conversion weakened significantly compared to both the prior quarter and the same quarter last year, as free cash flow margin declined. The decline was driven by lower operating cash flow combined with higher capital expenditure relative to the year-ago period.
- Revenue was lower than both the prior quarter and the year-ago period. Operating cash flow decreased, and while capital expenditure declined slightly from the prior quarter, it was higher than a year ago, resulting in free cash flow and margin that were substantially lower than both comparative periods.
- Compared to the prior quarter, all metrics weakened: revenue, operating cash flow, free cash flow, and margin were lower. Relative to the same quarter last year, revenue was slightly lower, operating cash flow decreased, capital expenditure increased, and free cash flow and margin declined.
FCF snapshot
Quarterly and TTM cash-flow metrics with the minimum valuation context.
TTM free cash flow
$18.4B
Trailing twelve-month free cash flow.
Quarter free cash flow
$2.7B
Free cash flow in the selected fiscal quarter.
Operating cash flow
$6.8B
Cash generated by operations before capital spending.
CapEx
$4.1B
Capital spending and related asset purchases.
FCF margin
5.9%
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.
| Period | Revenue | Operating CF | CapEx | FCF | FCF margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-06-30 | $47.2B | $6.3B | $3.8B | $2.5B | 5.4% |
| 2023-09-30 | $51.9B | $9.7B | $4.7B | $5.0B | 9.6% |
| 2023-12-31 | $48.9B | $12.4B | $4.4B | $8.1B | 16.5% |
| 2024-03-31 | $46.6B | $6.8B | $4.1B | $2.7B | 5.9% |
Cash conversion quality
Checks that separate high-quality free cash flow from accounting noise or working-capital timing.
| FCF / net income | 49.8% | Shows whether accounting earnings convert into cash. |
| CapEx / revenue | 8.8% | Lower capital intensity usually supports FCF margin. |
| Net cash | n/a | Cash and equivalents minus total debt. |
Recent events shaping cash flow
Near-term business events that help explain the free cash flow result.
Capital expenditure increase
Capital expenditure rose compared to the same quarter last year, largely due to higher upstream investments including spending on recently acquired assets, as noted in the filing.
The higher capital outlay, combined with lower operating cash flow, compressed free cash flow and margin.
What the cash flow says
How to interpret the company's free cash flow beyond the headline number.
Revenue was lower than both the prior quarter and the year-ago period. Operating cash flow decreased, and while capital expenditure declined slightly from the prior quarter, it was higher than a year ago, resulting in free cash flow and margin that were substantially lower than both comparative periods.
Compared to the prior quarter, all metrics weakened: revenue, operating cash flow, free cash flow, and margin were lower. Relative to the same quarter last year, revenue was slightly lower, operating cash flow decreased, capital expenditure increased, and free cash flow and margin declined.
Monitor operating cash flow trends, as it declined from both the prior quarter and the year-ago period.