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Communications Systems (Communications Systems) Free Cash Flow : $-4.65 Mil (TTM As of Dec. 2021)


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What is Communications Systems Free Cash Flow?

Communications Systems's total free cash flow for the months ended in Dec. 2021 was $-2.00 Mil. Its total free cash flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2021 was $-4.65 Mil.

Communications Systems's Free Cash Flow per Share for the months ended in Dec. 2021 was $-0.82. Its free cash flow per share for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2021 was $-1.91.

Please click Growth Rate Calculation Example (GuruFocus) to see how GuruFocus calculates Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT)'s revenue growth rate. You can apply the same method to get the Free Cash Flow Growth Rate using Free Cash Flow per Share data.


Communications Systems Free Cash Flow Historical Data

The historical data trend for Communications Systems's Free Cash Flow can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* Premium members only.

Communications Systems Free Cash Flow Chart

Communications Systems Annual Data
Trend Dec12 Dec13 Dec14 Dec15 Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21
Free Cash Flow
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 2.88 -5.42 9.81 -4.85 -4.65

Communications Systems Quarterly Data
Mar17 Jun17 Sep17 Dec17 Mar18 Jun18 Sep18 Dec18 Mar19 Jun19 Sep19 Dec19 Mar20 Jun20 Sep20 Dec20 Mar21 Jun21 Sep21 Dec21
Free Cash Flow Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 0.83 0.19 0.09 -2.93 -2.00

Communications Systems Free Cash Flow Calculation

Free Cash Flow is considered one of the most important parameters to measure a company's earnings power by value investors because it is not subject to estimates of Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization (DDA). However, when we look at the Free Cash Flow, we should look from a long term perspective, because any year's Free Cash Flow can be drastically affected by the spending on Property, Plant, & Equipment (PPE) of the business in that year. Over the long term, Free Cash Flow should give pretty good picture on the real earnings power of the company.

Communications Systems's Free Cash Flow for the fiscal year that ended in Dec. 2021 is calculated as

Free Cash Flow (A: Dec. 2021 )=Cash Flow from Operations+Capital Expenditure
=-4.612+-0.035
=-4.65

Communications Systems's Free Cash Flow for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2021 is calculated as

Free Cash Flow (Q: Dec. 2021 )=Cash Flow from Operations+Capital Expenditure
=-1.986+-0.015
=-2.00

Free Cash Flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2021 adds up the quarterly data reported by the company within the most recent 12 months, which was $-4.65 Mil.

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.


Communications Systems  (NAS:JCS) Free Cash Flow Explanation

Free Cash Flow is very close to Warren Buffett's definition of Owner's Earnings, except that in Warren Buffett's Owner's Earnings, the spending for Property, Plant, and Equipment is only for maintenance (replacement), while in the Free Cash Flow calculation, the cost of new Property, Plant, and Equipment due to business expansion is also deducted. There, Free Cash Flow is more conservative than Owner's Earnings.

In Don Yacktman's calculation of forward rate of return, he uses Free Cash Flow for the calculation. Yacktman explained the forward rate of return concept in detail in his interview with GuruFocus. Yacktman defines forward rate of return as the normalized free cash flow yield plus real growth plus inflation.

This is what Yacktman said in his March 2012 interview - when the S&P 500 was at 1400:

If the business is stable, this calculation is fairly straightforward. For instance, on the S&P 500 we would normalize earnings. We would then calculate what percentage of those earnings are not reinvested in the underlying businesses and are therefore free. Historically, for the S&P 500, this has been just under 50% of earnings. Currently, we expect the S&P to earn about 70 on a normalized basis, a number which is far below reported earnings due to our adjusting for record high profit margins. $70 X ½ / 1400 gives you a normalized free cash flow yield of approximately 2.5%.

The historical real growth rate of the S&P 500 (companies) is about 1.5%. Assuming an inflation rate of 2.5%, the forward rate of return on an investment in the S&P 500 is about 6.5% today (2.5% free cash flow yield plus 1.5% real growth plus 2.5% inflation).

For the growth part of the Forward Rate of Return calculation, GuruFocus uses the 5-year average growth rate of EBITDA per share as the growth rate, and the growth rate is always capped at 20%. For the Free Cash Flow we use per share data averaged over seven years. The reason we use seven years is because research shows that seven years is the length of the typical business cycle.

Therefore, as of Dec21, Communications Systems's Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % is

Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % (Dec21)=Normalized Free Cash Flow/Price+5-Year EBITDA Growth Rate
=1.59352381/9.6+-0.3911
=-22.51 %

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.


Be Aware

Free Cash Flow within a report period can be affected by management's decisions of capital spending. Therefore, it is important to look at long term when it comes to Free Cash Flow.


Communications Systems Free Cash Flow Related Terms

Thank you for viewing the detailed overview of Communications Systems's Free Cash Flow provided by GuruFocus.com. Please click on the following links to see related term pages.


Communications Systems (Communications Systems) Business Description

Traded in Other Exchanges
N/A
Address
10900 Red Circle Drive, Minnetonka, MN, USA, 55343
Communications Systems Inc is a telecommunications firm. Its Electronics & Software segment manufactures and sells solutions that provide actionable intelligence, power and connectivity at the edge of networks through PoE products, software and services as well as traditional products and designs, develops, and sells edge network access products, TDM over IP and other circuit emulation solutions; and Services and Support segment provides technology solutions including virtualization, managed services, wired and wireless network design and implementation, and hybrid cloud infrastructure and deployment and designs, develops, and sells SD-WAN solutions. It operates in North America; Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Rest of world.
Executives
Northern Pacific Growth Investment Advisors, Llc 10 percent owner 315 EAST LAKE STREET, SUITE 301, WAYZATA MN 55391
Marilyn S. Adler director 315 LAKE STREET EAST, SUITE 301, WAYZATA MN 55391
Tom Holland director 315 LAKE STREET EAST, SUITE 301, WAYZATA MN 55391
Kyle Udseth director, officer: CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER NORTHERN PACIFIC GROUP, 315 EAST LAKE STREET, SUITE 301, WAYZATA MN 55391
Scott Honour director 10877 WILSHIRE BOULEVARD, 18TH FLOOR, LOS ANGELES CA 90024
Mike Siegler officer: Senior Vice President 10900 RED CIRCLE DR., MINNETONKA MN 55343
Anita Kumar director, officer: President/CEO 10900 RED CIRCLE DRIVE, MINNETONKA MN 55343
Michael R. Zapata director 2765 NW NICOLAI STREET, PORTLAND OR 97210
Mark Fandrich officer: CFO 17400 6TH AVE. N., PLYMOUTH MN 55447
Kristin Hlavka other: Controller 10900 RED CIRCLE DRIVE, MINNETONKA MN 55343
Scott Fluegge officer: VP 12946 66TH ST N, WEST PALM BEACH FL 33412
Roger Hd Lacey director 10900 RED CIRCLE DRIVE, MINNETONKA MN 55343
Steven Webster director 4901 ARDEN AVE., EDINA MN 55424
Richard A Primuth director
Curtis A Sampson director, 10 percent owner, officer: CEO PO BOX 777, S MAIN ST, HECTOR MN 55342

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