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The Cash Flow Statement shows how cash moves in and out of a company.

The cash flow statement is presented in the quarterly and annual company filings

The things I ask myself:

-Is operating cash flow positive or negative? (Positive)
-Is capital expenditures less than OCF? (Yes)
-Is the company buying back stock or issuing new shares? (Buying back)

These are 3 simple questions to ask yourself before reading one

Cash flow is divided into 3 sections:

-Cash from operating activities
-Cash from investing activities
-Cash from financing activities

These are the 3 main components of every cash flow statement.

1. Operating Activities

Cash flows from operating activities explains the cash flows within the business for its normal operations over a particular period.

This will show whether a company is capable of generating positive cash flow to maintain and grow its operations.

1A. Operating Activities

The most important thing when looking at operating activities is to make sure the number is positive.

If the number is positive this means it is generating more money than it’s spending for the normal operations.

1B. Operating Activities

If the number is negative this means the company could be in major long term trouble. They will most likely have to take on debt to fund their company.

If a company is taking on debt to fund their operations, they will not survive

2. Investing Activities

Cash flows from investing activities comes from the profit and losses from investments that the company has made

Any long-term physical or intangible asset that the company expects to deliver value in the future will be included

2A. Investing Activities

Common line items in this section include:

-Purchase of Property, Plant, and Equipment (PP&E)
-Proceeds from disposal of PPE
-Proceeds from sell of stocks
-Acquisitions

3. Financing Activities

Cash Flow from financing activities explains the cash flows used to fund the company’s operations and payback their shareholders along with creditors

3A. Financing Activities

Common line items include:

-Borrowing of long-term debt
-Repayment of Long-term debt
-Repayment of short-term debt
-Proceeds from stock options
-Proceeds from stock offering
-Repurchases of Common Stock
-Dividends Paid

4. Free Cash Flow

The most important numbers you can gather from the cash flow statement is free cash flow

FCF tells investors and analysts how much cash a business generates after growing and maintaining it’s business

4A. Free Cash Flow

This cash can be paid to shareholders as a dividend, be used to pay down debt, buyback shares or to just keep as cash on balance sheet

This is a very important metric to gauge when valuing a stock

You should look for a company with FCF of 10%+

These are the 3 main sections in the cash flow statement

Learning how to read and analyze these are crucial when purchasing individual stocks

In closing, the cash flow statement shows how much cash different activities generate (or cost) a particular business over time

Thank you for reading!

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