Free cash flow takeaway
A quick read on the company's cash generation and what it means for investors.
In the current quarter, free cash flow was negative, driven by a negative operating cash flow despite relatively stable capital expenditure. This represents a marked weakening from the prior quarter’s positive free cash flow and a slight deterioration from the same quarter a year earlier.
- Revenue was higher than the year-ago quarter but lower than the prior quarter. Operating cash flow turned negative, and with capital expenditure remaining similar to the year-ago level, free cash flow was also negative, producing a negative margin.
- Compared with the immediately preceding quarter, free cash flow and margin weakened sharply from positive to negative. Versus the same quarter one year earlier, free cash flow was slightly more negative, and the margin also worsened.
FCF snapshot
Quarterly and TTM cash-flow metrics with the minimum valuation context.
TTM free cash flow
$1.2B
Trailing twelve-month free cash flow.
Quarter free cash flow
-$641.6M
Free cash flow in the selected fiscal quarter.
Operating cash flow
-$618.5M
Cash generated by operations before capital spending.
CapEx
$23.1M
Capital spending and related asset purchases.
FCF margin
-17.7%
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 | $3.6B | -$262.5M | $16.9M | -$279.4M | -7.7% |
| 2023-09-30 | $3.6B | $405.5M | $24.2M | $381.3M | 10.7% |
| 2023-12-31 | $4.1B | $1.8B | $14.2M | $1.8B | 44.0% |
| 2024-03-31 | $3.6B | -$618.5M | $23.1M | -$641.6M | -17.7% |
Cash conversion quality
Checks that separate high-quality free cash flow from accounting noise or working-capital timing.
| FCF / net income | -201.4% | Shows whether accounting earnings convert into cash. |
| CapEx / revenue | 0.6% | 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.
Negative Operating Cash Flow
Operating cash flow shifted from a positive amount in the prior quarter to a negative amount in the current quarter, which was the primary factor behind the negative free cash flow.
The negative operating cash flow outweighed the relatively stable capital expenditure, resulting in a negative 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 higher than the year-ago quarter but lower than the prior quarter. Operating cash flow turned negative, and with capital expenditure remaining similar to the year-ago level, free cash flow was also negative, producing a negative margin.
Compared with the immediately preceding quarter, free cash flow and margin weakened sharply from positive to negative. Versus the same quarter one year earlier, free cash flow was slightly more negative, and the margin also worsened.
Monitor the company’s cash and cash equivalents, which decreased from the prior quarter-end according to the balance sheet.