cash flow

American  

noun

1. the sum of the after-tax profit of a business plus depreciation and other noncash charges: used as an indication of internal funds available for stock dividends, purchase of buildings and equipment, etc.

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cash flow British  

noun

1. the movement of money into and out of a business

2. a prediction of such movement over a given period

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Etymology

Origin of cash flow

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

However, QuidelOrtho sees free cash flow turning positive for the full year.

From Barron's • Apr. 16, 2026

“Any potential premium cash flow difference in the first few years will be more than made up” with dividends from a mutual company, Weber says.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 16, 2026

Production, costs and cash flow are better than MA’s estimates, Hissey says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Analyst widely see Tesla posting its first year of negative free cash flow since 2018.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

Countless similar oddities result from our conventional ways of measuring, reporting, and com paring periodic quantities, whether they be the monthly cash flow of a government or the regular daily fluctuations in body temperature.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos