In this insightful discussion, Dave Kellogg, a SaaS investment guru, and Ray Rike, a growth strategies expert, unravel the vital concept of Free Cash Flow (FCF). They delve into how FCF serves as a benchmark for measuring company performance and its crucial integration with the Rule of 40. The duo breaks down various calculation methods, exploring the impact of capitalizing sales commissions and R&D. FCF emerges as a pivotal metric not just for B2B SaaS firms, but for investors navigating a maturing industry.
Free cash flow is crucial for understanding a company's liquidity and financial health, surpassing profit figures in reliability.
The Rule of 40 intertwines growth and profitability, with free cash flow margin emerging as a key profitability metric for investors.
Deep dives
Understanding Free Cash Flow
Free cash flow (FCF) is critical as it represents the cash that remains after a company has paid all of its operating expenses and capital expenditures, indicating how much money is available for growth opportunities, paying dividends, or servicing debt. This metric shines a light on a company’s liquidity, offering a clearer picture of its financial health than profit figures, which can be influenced by accounting principles. Notably, cash is categorized as a fact, whereas profit often relies on subjective measures and estimations, complicating the accuracy of financial statements. Hence, free cash flow serves as a more reliable indicator for stakeholders assessing a company's ability to sustain operations and invest in future growth.
The Importance of the Rule of 40
The Rule of 40 provides a framework for evaluating the balance between a company's growth rate and its profitability, using free cash flow margin as one of its key metrics. With a recent analysis showing that the Rule of 40 now holds a stronger correlation with enterprise value than growth alone, it has become essential for investors to consider both growth and profitability when evaluating investment opportunities. While there are various growth metrics that can be employed, free cash flow margin is increasingly recognized as a standard metric for profitability within this rule. This shift highlights the growing importance of operational efficiency and sustainable business practices in today’s economic environment.
Cash Flow vs. Profit: Key Takeaways
Discerning the difference between cash flow and profit is vital for understanding a company's financial performance, as cash flow reflects the actual liquidity available to a business, while profit often includes non-cash elements that may misrepresent the economic reality. Statements such as 'cash is king' underscore the necessity for companies to monitor their cash flow, particularly during downturns when liquidity becomes essential for survival and growth. Moreover, various accounting practices, such as capitalizing research and development costs or sales commissions, can obscure the true cash requirements of a business. Thus, relying on cash flow metrics, especially free cash flow, can provide a clearer assessment of a company's financial stability and operational effectiveness.
Free Cash Flow is a key metric for any SaaS investor and thus for SaaS CFOs and CEOs. Moreover Free Cash Flow Margin is a key variable in the Rule of 40 - a key enterprise value creation metric. Dave "CAC" Kellogg and Ray "Growth" Rike dive deep into the value behind the FCF metric and the different ways to calculate!
During this episode Dave and Ray discuss the following elements of Free Cash Flow:
Where to find Free Cash Flow on public company filings
The three primary Cash Flow statements
Different formulas to calculate Free Cash Flow
The impact of capitalizing sales commissions and R&D
The Rule of 40 calculation - Free Cash Flow as the profitability metric
Free Cash Flow is not a metric limited to B2B SaaS companies but has become an increasingly important metric to SaaS investors as the industry matures as measured by how Enterprise Value has become more correlated to a blend of growth and profitability.
This episode is a great listen for anyone interested in the core financial metrics that impact the value of a B2B SaaS company!