
Amortization is also a non-cash deduction on a company's income statement. However, the income statement recognizes it as a real annual cost of doing business.Īmortization is similar to depreciation, as it reflects the regular expensing of an asset that is already reflected on a company's balance sheet. This $2 million per year amount is not a cash expense, since the company paid the $30 million cash up front. For example, if a production line for electric vehicles was purchased for $30 million, and is expected to last for 15 years, the company may recognize depreciation expense of $2 million per year, until the production line is projected to have no value. This expense item reflects the assumed decrease in value for assets such as like manufacturing equipment.

#Levered cash flow free
Calculating Free Cash Flow: Formulaįree Cash Flow = Operating Cash Flow - Maintenance Capex Maintenance Capex versus Depreciation and Amortizationĭepreciation is a common expenses reported in company's income statement. Free cash flow analysis may be used to measure the fundamental health of a company or to calculate how much the company is worth. Free cash flow can be used to pay dividends or reinvest in operations. What Is Free Cash Flow?įree cash flow (FCF) is the residual amount of cash that a business has earned from its operations, over a specific period of time, less maintenance. For example, if a company has reported an increase in Accounts Receivables, this reflects that the company has received less cash than the sales reported in the income statement would imply. Operating cashflow excludes the non-cash expenses of the income statement, but reflects other cash impacts that don't appear as income statement items, such as changes in working capital items from the balance sheet. Cashflow is cashflow, and decisions by the accounting department shouldn't affect the result. This is because CFO is less prone to the subjective application of accounting mechanisms, which can distort net income measures. Operating Cash FlowĪlthough net income is an important metric, operating cash flow, also called Cash From Operations (CFO), is believed by many to be a truer measure of profitability, especially over longer periods of time.


Ridvan_celik/E+ via Getty Images Net Income vs.
