Free cash flow takeaway
A quick read on the company's cash generation and what it means for investors.
Free cash flow was negative in the current quarter, driven by a negative operating cash flow despite lower capital expenditure. Compared to the same quarter last year, free cash flow improved substantially as operating cash flow was far less negative.
- Revenue was slightly lower than the prior quarter but higher than a year ago. Operating cash flow turned negative, resulting in negative free cash flow and a negative margin, while capital expenditure was lower than both comparison periods.
- Free cash flow weakened from the prior quarter's positive level, but improved significantly from the deeply negative level a year earlier. The margin followed a similar pattern.
FCF snapshot
Quarterly and TTM cash-flow metrics with the minimum valuation context.
TTM free cash flow
$2.4B
Trailing twelve-month free cash flow.
Quarter free cash flow
-$682.0M
Free cash flow in the selected fiscal quarter.
Operating cash flow
-$528.0M
Cash generated by operations before capital spending.
CapEx
$154.0M
Capital spending and related asset purchases.
FCF margin
-2.3%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-03-31 | $29.6B | $423.0M | $177.0M | $246.0M | 0.8% |
| 2024-06-30 | $29.5B | $1.2B | $114.0M | $1.1B | 3.7% |
| 2024-09-30 | $29.4B | $1.9B | $130.0M | $1.7B | 5.9% |
| 2024-12-31 | $29.2B | -$528.0M | $154.0M | -$682.0M | -2.3% |
Cash conversion quality
Checks that separate high-quality free cash flow from accounting noise or working-capital timing.
| FCF / net income | 98.4% | Shows whether accounting earnings convert into cash. |
| CapEx / revenue | 0.5% | Lower capital intensity usually supports FCF margin. |
| Net cash | -$9.5B | Cash and equivalents minus total debt. |
Recent events shaping cash flow
Near-term business events that help explain the free cash flow result.
Operating cash flow reversal
Operating cash flow shifted from a large positive in the prior quarter to a negative amount in the current quarter, while capital expenditure remained relatively stable.
This reversal was the primary factor behind the negative free cash flow.
What the cash flow says
How to interpret the company's free cash flow beyond the headline number.
Revenue was slightly lower than the prior quarter but higher than a year ago. Operating cash flow turned negative, resulting in negative free cash flow and a negative margin, while capital expenditure was lower than both comparison periods.
Free cash flow weakened from the prior quarter's positive level, but improved significantly from the deeply negative level a year earlier. The margin followed a similar pattern.
Monitor the trajectory of operating cash flow, as it swung from positive to negative sequentially.