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Family Dollar Stores (FRA:FAY) Free Cash Flow : €161 Mil (TTM As of May. 2015)


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What is Family Dollar Stores Free Cash Flow?

Family Dollar Stores's total free cash flow for the months ended in May. 2015 was €146 Mil. Its total free cash flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in May. 2015 was €161 Mil.

Family Dollar Stores's Free Cash Flow per Share for the months ended in May. 2015 was €1.27. Its free cash flow per share for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in May. 2015 was €1.41.

During the past 3 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was -41.80% per year. 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.

During the past 13 years, Family Dollar Stores's highest 3-Year average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 258.30% per year. The lowest was -69.00% per year. And the median was 16.80% per year.


Family Dollar Stores Free Cash Flow Historical Data

The historical data trend for Family Dollar Stores'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.

Family Dollar Stores Free Cash Flow Chart

Family Dollar Stores Annual Data
Trend Aug05 Aug06 Aug07 Aug08 Aug09 Aug10 Aug11 Aug12 Aug13 Aug14
Free Cash Flow
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 293.81 127.59 -188.56 -204.61 24.69

Family Dollar Stores Quarterly Data
Aug10 Nov10 Feb11 May11 Aug11 Nov11 Feb12 May12 Aug12 Nov12 Feb13 May13 Aug13 Nov13 Feb14 May14 Aug14 Nov14 Feb15 May15
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 39.01 65.38 -157.68 108.28 145.50

Family Dollar Stores 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.

Family Dollar Stores's Free Cash Flow for the fiscal year that ended in Aug. 2014 is calculated as

Free Cash Flow (A: Aug. 2014 )=Cash Flow from Operations+Capital Expenditure
=352.341+-327.652
=25

Family Dollar Stores's Free Cash Flow for the quarter that ended in May. 2015 is calculated as

Free Cash Flow (Q: May. 2015 )=Cash Flow from Operations+Capital Expenditure
=214.654+-69.15
=146

Free Cash Flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in May. 2015 adds up the quarterly data reported by the company within the most recent 12 months, which was €161 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.


Family Dollar Stores  (FRA:FAY) 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 May15, Family Dollar Stores's Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % is

Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % (May15)=Normalized Free Cash Flow/Price+5-Year EBITDA Growth Rate
=-0.07219048/0+0.0395
=0 %

* 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.


Family Dollar Stores Free Cash Flow Related Terms

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Family Dollar Stores (FRA:FAY) Business Description

Traded in Other Exchanges
N/A
Address
Family Dollar Stores Inc was incorporated in November 1959. The Company provides consumers with a selection of competitively priced merchandise in convenient neighbourhood stores. Its merchandise assortment includes Consumables, Home Products, Apparel and Accessories, and Seasonal and Electronics. It classifies the combination of Home Products, Apparel and Accessories, and Seasonal and Electronics as Discretionary. It operates general merchandise retail discount stores in 46 states, serving the basic needs of customers primarily in the low- and middle-income brackets. The stores are supported by 11 distribution centers and one Store Support Center. It competes for sales and store locations in varying degrees with international, national, regional and local retailing establishments, other discount stores, department stores, variety stores, dollar stores, discount clothing stores, drug stores, grocery stores, convenience stores, outlet stores, warehouse stores and other stores. The Company's trademark includes Family Dollar and Family Dollar Stores. Its business is subject to federal, state, local, and international laws, rules, and regulations, such as state and local wage and hour laws, anti-corruption laws, import and export laws, unclaimed property laws, and many others.

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