Source: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/free-cash-flow

# Free cash flow
URL: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/free-cash-flow
Last modified: 2026-10-17

Free cash flow is the cash a business brings in from operations minus what it spends on equipment and buildings. Accounting shapes earnings; cash either arrived or did not. It funds [buybacks and dividends](https://mochatrade.com/learn/us-market-structure/us-earnings-explained), and Oracle spent $56 billion against $32 billion taken in over a year, [paying for data centres by selling stock](https://mochatrade.com/blog/mocha-markets-weekly-ccd).

## Related terms

- Buyback: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/buyback
- Order backlog (remaining performance obligations): https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/order-backlog
- Payout ratio: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/payout-ratio
- EBITDA: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/ebitda
- Dividend aristocrats: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/dividend-aristocrats
- Dividend ETF: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/dividend-etf