Positive Cash Flow: Vital For Smart Investments (2024)

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Don’t we all not want to invest in companies which generate a good amount of cash from its business operations and thus can give us good dividends or good returns in the long term?

Cash flow of the company is an annual data generated from Cash Flow Statement taking into account the cash inflow and outflow from a company affecting the liquidity of the business.

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Thus companies which can consistently increase their cash from operations can sustain any increase in macro headwinds and thus provide a good investment opportunity.

Now you would like to know which are those companies right!!!

Well, the stockedge app helps you to find out much more about it.

You can see this information in the ratios section under the financial of any stock. Here we can see that in the case of Page Ind cash flow in consistently increasing whereas in the case of Tata Motors it is decreasing.

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So let’s understand more about Cash flows and how it works.

Cash flow Scan

In this scan, the stocks with good operating cash flows are filtered out. Now operating cash flows are those which are left after paying all direct costs (subtracted from sales) involved in manufacturing to the selling of the product. This takes into account the cost of goods sold including taxes and Interest. Thus this is an accurate measure to ascertain a company’s financial strength.

Formula:

Operating cash flow = Sales – Direct Cost

We also have Financing Cash Flows which gives insight into the debt taken by the company from outside or internally for the needs of the working capital requirement of the company thus it’s a payment made for running the business. Thus these requirements can be a short-term or a long-term capital requirement by the company. Dividends, buybacks, acquisition etc are the financing cash flow components. It is found in the long-term capital section of the balance sheet.

Formula:

Financing Cash Flow = Cash & Cash Equivalents – Change in Inventory – Dividends Paid

We also have Investing cash flows which take into account any purchases or Investments made for short term or long term by the company for which cash is used for eg any purchase of fixed asset like Property Plant or Equipment or any new Investments falls under-investing activity. Any joint venture or merger and acquisition for which payment is made also comes under this head. It is found in the non-current head of the balance sheet.

Formula:

Investing Cash Flow = Change in fixed Asset + Change in Investments

What is the significance of the Cashflow scan?

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Now you must be eager to know how to use cash flow scan and implement it to generate good investment stocks.

Thus we will discuss all this here to help you filter out companies with good cash flow.

Increase in cash from operations signifies the financial strength of the company due to an increase in earnings. It means that after all the direct costs related to production and distribution of goods is deducted from sales the company generates enough cash from operations. This cash is called the cash from business operations.

Consistent cash from operations means that the company is able to generate positive returns regularly from its business. It means its earning is growing consistently and thus it’s a good growth stock.

Consistently growing cash from operations means that a company is able to increase its cash flow from its operations every year after meeting its business expenses which means it’s able to utilize its financing and investing cash flow very wisely. It also means that the earnings of the company are also growing proportionately thus increasing cash flow for the company.

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What do you mean by Free Cash Flow?

Free Cashflow simply means cash left over after a company pays for its operating expenses and Capital Expenditure (CAPEX). It is an important measure which shows how efficient a company is at generating cash. Investors use free cash flow to measure whether a company have enough cash, after funding operations and capital expenditure, to pay its investors through dividend or Buyback.

Formula

Free cash flow = Operating CF – Capital Expenditure

Consistently increasing Free Cash Flow: Companies whose free cash flow is increasing consistently due to revenue growth, efficiency improvement, cost reduction or debt reduction can reward investors tomorrow.

Consistently decreasing free cash flow: Decreasing FCF might signal that the company is not able to sustain its earnings growth. An insufficient FCF for earnings growth can force a company to increase its debt levels or not have the liquidity to stay in business.

Bottomline

Consistent growing Cash Flow from the company is very important as it’s a very big metric to understand the financial strength of the company. Thus to filter out companies generating increasing cash flow from operations in seconds subscribe to Stockedge. If you still do not have the StockEdge app, download it right now to use this feature. It is a part of the premium offering of StockEdge App.

Click to subscribe:https://stockedge.com/premium

If you want to know more about this then click on this link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTosUj92lp8

Tags: Cash flow ScanDividends PaidOperating cash flowStockEdge

Positive Cash Flow: Vital For Smart Investments (2024)

FAQs

How important is positive cash flow? ›

Positive cash flow indicates that a company's liquid assets are increasing. This enables it to settle debts, reinvest in its business, return money to shareholders, pay expenses, and provide a buffer against future financial challenges. Negative cash flow indicates that a company's liquid assets are decreasing.

What is a cash flow positive investment? ›

What is Positive Cash Flow Property? Definition: Positive Cash Flow Property is an investment property where the annual rent exceeds the total annual expenses, after tax deductions and depreciation are taken into account. In other words, this is a type of investment asset that “pays you” to own it.

Why is it vital to be cash flow positive as you recover from a financial setback? ›

Positive cash flow provides opportunities for investment in growth initiatives, such as expanding operations, launching new products, research and development, or other investing activities. Prudent cash management ensures that funds are available for these strategic investments when opportunities arise.

What is the importance of cash flow in investments? ›

Cash flow from investing activities is important because it shows how a company is allocating cash for the long term. For instance, a company may invest in fixed assets such as property, plant, and equipment to grow the business.

Is positive cash flow better than capital growth? ›

A property that generates positive cash flow may be more stable in the short term, but it may also have limited potential for growth. On the other hand, a property that has the potential for capital growth may be more volatile in the short term, but it may also provide a greater return on investment over time.

What is the disadvantage of positive cash flow? ›

The main disadvantage of generating a positive cash flow is that because you're receiving extra income, you'll have to pay more tax.

What is an example of a positive cash flow? ›

Positive cash flow example

A small retail store generates $50,000 in revenue from the sale of its products in a month. The store's monthly expenses, including rent, utilities, payroll, and other expenses, total $30,000. This means that the store has a net cash flow of $50,000 - $30,000 = $20,000 for the month.

Is positive cash flow the same as profit? ›

So, is cash flow the same as profit? No, there are stark differences between the two metrics. Cash flow is the money that flows in and out of your business throughout a given period, while profit is whatever remains from your revenue after costs are deducted.

Is positive cash flow from investing activities good? ›

A positive investing cash flow means that a company generates more cash from its investments than it is spending. This can be good or bad, based on how the company uses the extra cash. It can be good if a company reinvests its positive investing cash flow into growth opportunities.

How to create a positive cash flow? ›

11 Strategies to Help Generate Positive Cash Flow
  1. Bootstrap the Business.
  2. Talk With Vendors to Negotiate Terms.
  3. Save on Production Cost with Technology.
  4. Delay Expenses.
  5. Start a Partner Referral Program.
  6. Have Operating Assets.
  7. Send Invoices Early.
  8. Check Your Inventory.

What are the consequences of positive net cash flow? ›

Positive net cash flow (above 0) is generally a sign of financial soundness and good management: the company's revenues cover all of its needs without recourse to external financing. The company can therefore use these resources for other short-term needs.

How important is cash flow for investment property? ›

Essentially, cash flow will be the direct tell for a real estate investor as to if his/her rental property is profitable and just how much money is being made.

Why is positive cash flow important? ›

By keeping your cash flow positive, you're hanging onto every well-earned penny. Payroll is easier: When you know that you have enough cash to pay staff on time, the preserving of employee morale becomes a whole lot smoother.

What is the meaning of cash flow from investing? ›

Cash Flow from Investing Activities is the section of a company's cash flow statement that displays how much money has been used in (or generated from) making investments during a specific time period.

What is the most important cash flow activity? ›

Answer: The operating activities section of the statement of cash flows is generally regarded as the most important section since it provides cash flow information related to the daily operations of the business.

Why is positive free cash flow important? ›

The upshot: Positive free cash flow means you have sufficient money to invest back into the business for growth or to distribute to shareholders. Negative free cash flow could portend that you'll need to raise money to pay the rent or there's a potential for healthier competitors to outperform you in the market.

Is positive operating cash flow good? ›

When a company's cash flow is positive, it suggests a state of financial health. Companies with positive cash flow can pay their day-to-day expenses, invest in new equipment, pay dividends to shareholders, and attract outside investment.

Do you want a positive or negative cash flow? ›

Companies and investors naturally like to see positive cash flow from all of a company's operations, but having negative cash flow from investing activities is not always bad. To make an evaluation of a company's investing activities, investors need to review the company's particular situation in greater detail.

Why is positive cash flow from operating activities important? ›

The cash flow from operating activities formula shows you the success (or not) of your core business activities. If your business has a positive cash flow from operating activities, you may be able to fund growth projects, launch new products, pay dividends, reduce the company's debt, and so on.

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