Cash & balance sheet
Free cash flow
Also called: FCF
Cash the business generates after paying for its operations and investments in equipment.
Profit is an accounting figure; free cash flow is the cash that actually came in. It starts from the cash generated by operations and deducts what the company spent on investments such as factories, machines or software.
Free cash flow is what a company can use to pay down debt, make acquisitions, buy back shares or pay dividends. Definitions differ between companies (Ferrari, for example, reports “industrial” free cash flow), so the breakdowns always use the company's own definition.
General explanation for education only, not investment advice. Company-specific definitions can differ; each breakdown uses the company’s own.