GURUFOCUS.COM » STOCK LIST » Healthcare » Healthcare Providers & Services » Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NAS:WBA) » Definitions » Free Cash Flow

Walgreens Boots Alliance (Walgreens Boots Alliance) Free Cash Flow

: $-1,766 Mil (TTM As of Feb. 2024)
View and export this data going back to 1985. Start your Free Trial

Walgreens Boots Alliance's total free cash flow for the months ended in Feb. 2024 was $-989 Mil. Its total free cash flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Feb. 2024 was $-1,766 Mil.

Walgreens Boots Alliance's Free Cash Flow per Share for the months ended in Feb. 2024 was $-1.15. Its free cash flow per share for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Feb. 2024 was $-2.05.

During the past 12 months, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate of Walgreens Boots Alliance was -280.20% per year. During the past 3 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was -67.30% per year. During the past 5 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was -44.00% per year. During the past 10 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was -13.40% 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, Walgreens Boots Alliance's highest 3-Year average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 87.60% per year. The lowest was -143.10% per year. And the median was 11.35% per year.


Walgreens Boots Alliance Free Cash Flow Historical Data

The historical data trend for Walgreens Boots Alliance'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.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Annual Data
Trend Aug14 Aug15 Aug16 Aug17 Aug18 Aug19 Aug20 Aug21 Aug22 Aug23
Free Cash Flow
Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 3,892.00 4,110.00 4,176.00 2,165.00 141.00

Walgreens Boots Alliance Quarterly Data
May19 Aug19 Nov19 Feb20 May20 Aug20 Nov20 Feb21 May21 Aug21 Nov21 Feb22 May22 Aug22 Nov22 Feb23 May23 Aug23 Nov23 Feb24
Free Cash Flow 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 Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 248.00 -545.00 555.00 -787.00 -989.00

Walgreens Boots Alliance 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.

Walgreens Boots Alliance's Free Cash Flow for the fiscal year that ended in Aug. 2023 is calculated as

Free Cash Flow (A: Aug. 2023 )=Cash Flow from Operations+Capital Expenditure
=2258+-2117
=141

Walgreens Boots Alliance's Free Cash Flow for the quarter that ended in Feb. 2024 is calculated as

Free Cash Flow (Q: Feb. 2024 )=Cash Flow from Operations+Capital Expenditure
=-637+-352
=-989

Free Cash Flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Feb. 2024 adds up the quarterly data reported by the company within the most recent 12 months, which was $-1,766 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.


Walgreens Boots Alliance  (NAS:WBA) 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 Feb24, Walgreens Boots Alliance's Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % is

Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % (Feb24)=Normalized Free Cash Flow/Price+5-Year EBITDA Growth Rate
=4.71371429/21.26+-0.0454
=17.63 %

* 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.


Walgreens Boots Alliance Free Cash Flow Related Terms

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


Walgreens Boots Alliance (Walgreens Boots Alliance) Business Description

Address
108 Wilmot Road, Deerfield, IL, USA, 60015
Walgreens Boots Alliance is one of the largest retail pharmacy chains in the U.S., with over 8,500 locations. Nearly three quarters of Americans live within five miles of a Walgreens location. Roughly two thirds of revenue is generated from prescription drug sales; Walgreens makes up 20% of total prescription revenue in the U.S. Walgreens also generates sales from retail products (general wellness consumables and its own branded merchandise), European drug wholesale, and healthcare. With more locations incorporating additional services like Health Corner and Village Medical, Walgreens creates an omnichannel experience for patients and positions itself as a one-stop healthcare provider.
Executives
Nancy M Schlichting director 200 WILMOT ROAD, DEERFIELD IL 60015
Timothy C Wentworth director, officer: Chief Executive Officer C/O EXPRESS SCRIPTS HOLDING COMPANY, ONE EXPRESS WAY, ST. LOUIS MO 63121
Richard P. Gates officer: SVP, Chief Pharmacy Officer C/O WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE, INC., 108 WILMOT ROAD, DEERFIELD IL 60015
Neal J. Sample officer: EVP, Chief Information Officer 200 VESEY STREET, NEW YORK NY 10285
Todd Heckman officer: Interim Global Controller C/O WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE, INC., 108 WILMOT ROAD, DEERFIELD IL 60015
Polen Thomas E Jr director BECTON, DICKINSON AND COMPANY, 1 BECTON DRIVE, FRANKLIN LAKES NJ 07417
John Patrick Driscoll officer: EVP, Pres. U.S. Healthcare C/O WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE, INC., 108 WILMOT ROAD, DEERFIELD IL 60015
Rosalind G Brewer director, officer: CEO C/O MOLSON COORS BREWING COMPANY, 1225 17TH STREET, SUITE 3200, DENVER CO 80202
Kevin M. Ban officer: EVP, Chief Medical Officer C/O WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE, INC., 108 WILMOT ROAD, DEERFIELD IL 60015
Bryan C Hanson director ZIMMER BIOMET HOLDINGS, 345 E. MAIN STREET, WARSAW IN 46580
Henry Lee Cooper officer: EVP, Pres. Walgreens Pharmacy C/O WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE, INC., 108 WILMOT ROAD, DEERFIELD IL 60015
Tracey D Brown officer: SVP, Pres., Walgreens Retail 675 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, 6TH FLOOR, NEW YORK NY 10010
Inderpal S Bhandari director C/O WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE, INC., DEERFIELD IL 60015
Steven J Shulman director 1564 NE EXPRESSWAY, ATTN: BJ PURCELL, ATLANTA GA 30329
Holly May officer: EVP, Global Chief HR Officer 6301 FITCH PATH, NEW ALBANY OH 43054