cash flow

American  

noun

• cash flows
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cash flows
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cash flow

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cash flow

Porsche’s net cash flow margin in its mainstay automotive segment is now expected to increase this year to between 5.5% and 7.5%, up from previous guidance of 3% to 5%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Porsche expects its automotive net cash flow margin to rise to between 5.5% and 7.5% this year, up from previous guidance of 3% to 5%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

A company’s forward free-cash-flow yield is the consensus 12-month estimate for its free cash flow per share divided by its share price.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

“The potential payout of all of the company’s cash flow via dividends and buybacks under a new payout policy could be announced this month,” they add.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 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