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Uniti Group (Uniti Group) Free Cash Flow : $-64 Mil (TTM As of Dec. 2023)


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What is Uniti Group Free Cash Flow?

Uniti Group's total free cash flow for the months ended in Dec. 2023 was $114 Mil. Its total free cash flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2023 was $-64 Mil.

Uniti Group's Free Cash Flow per Share for the months ended in Dec. 2023 was $0.48. Its free cash flow per share for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2023 was $-0.27.

During the past 12 months, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate of Uniti Group was -295.70% per year. During the past 3 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 29.90% 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 12 years, Uniti Group's highest 3-Year average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 29.90% per year. The lowest was -54.00% per year. And the median was 0.80% per year.


Uniti Group Free Cash Flow Historical Data

The historical data trend for Uniti Group'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.

Uniti Group Free Cash Flow Chart

Uniti Group Annual Data
Trend Dec14 Dec15 Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23
Free Cash Flow
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 266.50 -159.85 113.30 32.55 -63.87

Uniti Group Quarterly Data
Mar19 Jun19 Sep19 Dec19 Mar20 Jun20 Sep20 Dec20 Mar21 Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23
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 40.11 -100.42 52.98 -130.25 113.82

Uniti Group 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.

Uniti Group's Free Cash Flow for the fiscal year that ended in Dec. 2023 is calculated as

Free Cash Flow (A: Dec. 2023 )=Cash Flow from Operations+Capital Expenditure
=353.129+-417.002
=-64

Uniti Group's Free Cash Flow for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2023 is calculated as

Free Cash Flow (Q: Dec. 2023 )=Cash Flow from Operations+Capital Expenditure
=162.554+-48.738
=114

Free Cash Flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2023 adds up the quarterly data reported by the company within the most recent 12 months, which was $-64 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.


Uniti Group  (NAS:UNIT) 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 Dec23, Uniti Group's Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % is

Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % (Dec23)=Normalized Free Cash Flow/Price+5-Year EBITDA Growth Rate
=0.12152381/5.78+-0.0334
=-1.24 %

* 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.


Uniti Group Free Cash Flow Related Terms

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


Uniti Group (Uniti Group) Business Description

Traded in Other Exchanges
Address
2101 Riverfront Drive, Suite A, Little Rock, AR, USA, 72202
Uniti is a REIT with about 135,000 route miles of fiber in the U.S., primarily in the Southeast. Uniti reports its business in two segments: leasing and fiber. Leasing currently makes up about 75% of total revenue and consists mostly of Uniti's master lease agreement with Windstream. Uniti was spun out of Windstream in 2015 with a substantial portion of Windstream's network assets, and it immediately leased the entire portfolio back for Windstream's exclusive use. Other leasing revenue stems from sale-leaseback transactions with other fiber holders. Uniti generates fiber revenue by leasing dark and lit fiber to wireless carriers and other enterprises.
Executives
Kenny Gunderman director, officer: See Remarks C/O AMERICA'S CAR-MART, INC., 802 SE PLAZA AVE, SUITE 200, BENTONVILLE AR 72712
Michael Friloux officer: EVP - Chief Technology Officer 2101 RIVERFRONT DRIVE, SUITE A, LITTLE ROCK AR 72202
Paul Bullington officer: Interim CFO and PFO 2101 RIVERFRONT DRIVE, SUITE A, LITTLE ROCK AR 72202
Travis Black officer: Interim PAO 2101 RIVERFRONT DRIVE, SUITE A, LITTLE ROCK AR 72202
Carmen Perez-carlton director 2101 RIVERFRONT DRIVE, SUITE A, LITTLE ROCK AR 72202
David L Solomon director 5847 SAN FELIPE SUITE 320, HOUSTON TX 77057
Blake Schuhmacher officer: Principal Accounting Officer 10802 EXECUTIVE CENTER DRIVE, BENTON BUILDING, SUITE 300, LITTLE ROCK AR 72211
Daniel L Heard officer: See Remarks 2101 RIVERFRONT DRIVE, SUITE A, LITTLE ROCK AR 72202
Ronald J. Mudry officer: EVP-Pres of Fiber Operations 10802 EXECUTIVE CENTER DRIVE, SUITE 300, LITTLE ROCK AR 72211
Andrew Frey director 10802 EXECUTIVE CENTER DRIVE, SUITE 300, LITTLE ROCK AR 72211
Scott G. Bruce director 10802 EXECUTIVE CENTER DRIVE, SUITE 300, LITTLE ROCK AR 72211
Windstream Holdings, Inc. 10 percent owner 4001 RODNEY PARHAM RD., LITTLE ROCK AR 72212
Windstream Services, Llc 10 percent owner 4001 RODNEY PARHAM ROAD, LITTLE ROCK AR 72212
Jennifer S Banner director 214N TRYON STREET, CHARLOTTE NC 28202
Francis X Frantz director ONE ALLIED DRIVE, LITTLE ROCK AR 72202