What does FCF, Last Yr mean?
Free cash flow measures the ease with which businesses can grow and pay dividends to shareholders. It is calculated from the Statement of Cash Flows as Cash From Operations minus Capital Expenditures.
Strictly speaking, free cash flow can be divided into Free Cash Flow to the Equity (FCFE ) or Free Cash Flow to the Firm, also known as unlevered free cash flow. FCFE equals i) operating cash flow minus ii) capital expenditure required to sustain growth plus iii) net borrowing minus iv) preferred dividends, although we use i) operating cashflow minus ii) total capital expenditure here as a proxy for FCFE.
Stockopedia explains FCF, Last Yr...
There are two differences between Net Income and Free Cash Flow that should be noted. The first is the accounting for the consumption of capital goods in that Net Income measure uses depreciation, while the Free Cash Flow measure uses capex. The second difference is that the FCF deducts increases in net working capital, where the net income approach does not. The net income measure essentially says, "You can take that cash home" because you would still have the same productive capacity, whereas the Free Cash Flow measurement argues that doing this would cramp the enterprise from operating itself going forward.
