Cash Flow

Definition

• The amount of money (after expenses are subtracted) that is generated by an investment or a business during a specific time period. One measure of cash flow is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Cash flow is often considered to be a company's most important financial statistic because money drives business.

Synonyms
earnings, income, profit, revenue

Related Terms and Acronyms

• Accounting Period (AP) — Acronym, Important,
  • The time period used in a set of accounting books or financial statements, often 12 months.
• Cash Flow Forecast — Definition,
  • An estimate of when and how much money will be received and paid out of a business. It usually records cash flow on a month-by-month basis for a period of two years.
• Debt/Equity Ratio — Definition,
  • A comparison of debt and equity used to measure the health of a business.
• Financing Expenses — Definition,
  • Expenses sustained from interest payments, financing, and dividends to shareholders.
• Household Income (HHI) — Acronym, Important,
  • The total income of all members of a household.
• Income Statement — Definition,
  • Also known as the profit and loss statement or P&L, enables you to calculate your company's pre-tax profits by subtracting total expenses from total revenues.
• Loss — Definition,
  • When expenses are larger than revenues.
• Net Cash Flow (NCF) — Acronym,
  • Incremental after-tax income plus depreciation expense resulting from investment.
• Operating Cash Flow (OCF) — Acronym,
  • The money a company generates from its business operations. This revenue excludes costs from certain investments.
• Operating Loan — Definition,
  • A loan intended for short-term financing, supplying cash flow support or to cover day-to-day operating expenses.
• Operational Expenses (OpEx) — Abbreviation,
  • Costs accruing from a business's business operations.
• Retained Earnings — Definition,
  • All of the profits or losses accumulated from prior years and from the present year's income statement, minus dividends paid to you.
• Revenue — Definition,
  • Money earned by a company from its business activities.
• Royalty Income — Definition,
  • Payment for the use and exploitation of certain kinds of property, such as artistic or literary works, patents and mineral rights.