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Warner Bros. Discovery (Warner Bros. Discovery) Free Cash Flow : $6,161 Mil (TTM As of Dec. 2023)


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What is Warner Bros. Discovery Free Cash Flow?

Warner Bros. Discovery's total free cash flow for the months ended in Dec. 2023 was $3,310 Mil. Its total free cash flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2023 was $6,161 Mil.

Warner Bros. Discovery's Free Cash Flow per Share for the months ended in Dec. 2023 was $1.36. Its free cash flow per share for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2023 was $2.53.

During the past 12 months, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate of Warner Bros. Discovery was 47.90% per year. During the past 3 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was -10.10% per year. During the past 5 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was -11.90% per year. During the past 10 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 5.40% 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, Warner Bros. Discovery's highest 3-Year average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 242.20% per year. The lowest was -34.50% per year. And the median was 10.70% per year.


Warner Bros. Discovery Free Cash Flow Historical Data

The historical data trend for Warner Bros. Discovery'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.

Warner Bros. Discovery Free Cash Flow Chart

Warner Bros. Discovery 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 3,110.00 2,337.00 2,425.00 3,317.00 6,161.00

Warner Bros. Discovery 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 2,482.00 -930.00 1,722.00 2,059.00 3,310.00

Warner Bros. Discovery 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.

Warner Bros. Discovery'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
=7477+-1316
=6,161

Warner Bros. Discovery'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
=3578+-268
=3,310

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 $6,161 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.


Warner Bros. Discovery  (NAS:WBD) 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, Warner Bros. Discovery's Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % is

Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % (Dec23)=Normalized Free Cash Flow/Price+5-Year EBITDA Growth Rate
=3.19485714/11.38+-0.0287
=25.20 %

* 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.


Warner Bros. Discovery Free Cash Flow Related Terms

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Warner Bros. Discovery (Warner Bros. Discovery) Business Description

Address
230 Park Avenue South, New York, NY, USA, 10003
Warner Bros. Discovery, the result of combining two large media firms, is one of the largest media firms in the world with tremendous scale and reach. The new company owns some of the biggest global networks including HBO, Discovery, CNN, and TLC and well-known franchises like Superman, Rick and Morty, and Game of Thrones. The firm's content production studios include Warner Bros., HBO, Discovery Studios, DC Films, and Cartoon Network Studios. The company operates two major streaming services, Max and Discovery+.
Executives
Advance/newhouse Partnership director 5015 CAMPUSWOOD DR., EAST SYRACUSE NY 13057
Steven O Newhouse director 6350 COURT STREET, EAST SYRACUSE NY 13057-1211
Advance/newhouse Programming Partnership director, 10 percent owner 5000 CAMPUSWOOD DRIVE, E. SYRACUSE NY 13057
Gerhard Zeiler officer: President, International C/O WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY, INC., 230 PARK AVENUE SOUTH, NEW YORK NY 10003
Gunnar Wiedenfels officer: Chief Financial Officer C/O WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY, INC., 230 PARK AVENUE SOUTH, NEW YORK NY 10003
Fazal F Merchant director 2230 E. IMPERIAL HIGHWAY, EL SEGUNDO CA 90245
Geoffrey Y Yang director 3000 SAND HILL ROAD, 2-290, MENLO PARK CA 94025
Di Piazza Samuel A Jr. director 100 BROOKWOOD PLACE, BIRMINGHAM AL 35209
Paul A Gould director 711 FIFTH AVENUE, 9TH FLOOR, NEW YORK NY 10022
Robert R Bennett director 12300 LIBERTY BLVD, ENGLEWOOD CO 80112
David Leavy officer: Chief Communications Officer C/O WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY, INC., 230 PARK AVENUE SOUTH, NEW YORK NY 10003
David Zaslav director, officer: Chief Executive Officer & Pres C/O WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY, INC., 230 PARK AVENUE SOUTH, NEW YORK NY 10003
Li Haslett Chen director C/O WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY, INC., 230 PARK AVENUE SOUTH, NEW YORK NY 10003
Debra L Lee director C/O BLACK ENTERTAINMENT, 1 BET PLZ. 1900W PLACE N.W., WASHINGTON DC 20018
Paula A Price director ONE CVS DRIVE, WOONSOCKET RI 02895