Operating, investing, and financing flows — where cash actually went.
| Concept | Explanation | |---|---| | Operating cash flow | Cash generated or consumed by normal operations. | | Investing cash flow | Cash used for or received from capital expenditures, investments, and acquisitions. | | Financing cash flow | Cash from debt, equity issuance, buybacks, dividends, or repayments. | | Capital expenditure | Investment in long-lived assets. | | Free cash flow | Operating cash flow minus capital expenditure, using a common simplified definition. |
Cash flow often reveals differences between accounting profit and actual cash generation. However, one period can be distorted by working-capital timing.