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Meredith (Meredith) Free Cash Flow : $328 Mil (TTM As of Sep. 2021)


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What is Meredith Free Cash Flow?

Meredith's total free cash flow for the months ended in Sep. 2021 was $35 Mil. Its total free cash flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Sep. 2021 was $328 Mil.

Meredith's Free Cash Flow per Share for the months ended in Sep. 2021 was $0.73. Its free cash flow per share for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Sep. 2021 was $7.05.

During the past 12 months, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate of Meredith was -7.30% per year. During the past 3 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 54.00% per year. During the past 5 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 13.60% per year. During the past 10 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 4.90% 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 13 years, Meredith's highest 3-Year average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 54.00% per year. The lowest was -42.30% per year. And the median was 6.65% per year.


Meredith Free Cash Flow Historical Data

The historical data trend for Meredith'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.

Meredith Free Cash Flow Chart

Meredith Annual Data
Trend Jun12 Jun13 Jun14 Jun15 Jun16 Jun17 Jun18 Jun19 Jun20 Jun21
Free Cash Flow
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 183.80 96.70 198.90 251.20 363.40

Meredith Quarterly Data
Dec16 Mar17 Jun17 Sep17 Dec17 Mar18 Jun18 Sep18 Dec18 Mar19 Jun19 Sep19 Dec19 Mar20 Jun20 Sep20 Dec20 Mar21 Jun21 Sep21
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 69.60 174.30 68.30 51.20 34.50

Meredith 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.

Meredith's Free Cash Flow for the fiscal year that ended in Jun. 2021 is calculated as

Free Cash Flow (A: Jun. 2021 )=Cash Flow from Operations+Capital Expenditure
=398.6+-35.2
=363

Meredith's Free Cash Flow for the quarter that ended in Sep. 2021 is calculated as

Free Cash Flow (Q: Sep. 2021 )=Cash Flow from Operations+Capital Expenditure
=42.3+-7.8
=35

Free Cash Flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Sep. 2021 adds up the quarterly data reported by the company within the most recent 12 months, which was $328 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.


Meredith  (NYSE:MDP) 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 Sep21, Meredith's Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % is

Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % (Sep21)=Normalized Free Cash Flow/Price+5-Year EBITDA Growth Rate
=4.66095238/55.7+0.0289
=11.26 %

* 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.


Meredith Free Cash Flow Related Terms

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


Meredith (Meredith) Business Description

Traded in Other Exchanges
N/A
Address
1716 Locust Street, Des Moines, IA, USA, 50309-3023
Meredith Corp is an American media company that focuses on publications and marketing services around the home, family, food, and lifestyle markets. The company operates two divisions: national media and local media. The national media segment publishes magazines such as Every Day with Rachael Ray, Better Homes and Gardens, Family Fun, and Parents; this segment is the source of the majority of Meredith's revenue. The local media segment owns over 15 television stations around the United States. In 2014, the company announced a 10-year licensing agreement with Martha Stewart Omnimedia to acquire the rights to Martha Stewart Living, Martha Stewart Weddings, and marthastewart.com.
Executives
John S Zieser officer: Chief Development Officer 1716 LOCUST STREET, LS 101-A; ATTN TERESA T. RINKER, DES MOINES IA 50309-3023
Steven M Cappaert officer: Corporate Controller
Thomas H Harty director, officer: President and CEO MEREDITH CORPORATION 1716 LOCUST ST., MAIL STOP LS101-A DES MOINES IA 50309
Patrick Mccreery officer: President-Local Media Group C/O MEREDITH CORP 1716 LOCUST STREET DES MOINES IA 50309
Jason M. Frierott officer: Chief Financial Officer C/O TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS HOLDINGS INC. 901 MAIN AVENUE NORWALK CT 06851
Gregory Coleman director C/O MEREDITH CORP., 1716 LOCUST STREET, DES MOINES IA 50309
Donald C Berg director PO BOX 1080, LOUISVILLE KY 40201
Stephen M Lacy director 1716 LOCUST STREET, LS 101-A; ATTN TERESA T. RINKER, DES MOINES IA 50309-3023
Beth J Kaplan director 1716 LOCUST STREET, DES MOINES IA 50309
Joseph H Ceryanec officer: Chief Financial Officer PO BOX 3177 CEDAR RAPIDS IA 52406-3177
Meredith Edwin T Iv 10 percent owner
Elizabeth E Tallett director 6705 ROCKLEDGE DR, SUITE 900, BETHESDA MD 20817
Iii Chris Roberts director 1716 LOCUST ST. LS-175, 7TH FLOOR, DES MOINES IA 50309
Paula Kerger director C/O MEREDITH CORP 1716 LOCUST STREET DES MOINES IA 50309
Donald A Baer director 1716 LOCUST STREET DES MOINES IA 50309