CAST — Cash Flow Analysis

CAST is the cash-flow lens missing from the equity-research bench. The Fundamentals panel shows margins; the Earnings panel shows EPS; CAST shows where the cash actually went. The two headlines (FCF margin and FCF yield) tell you how much real cash the business produces relative to revenue and market cap. The body shows the OCF→FCF waterfall, where the free cash flow was deployed (buybacks / dividends / debt paydown / reinvestment), and the cash conversion ratio that flags earnings-quality issues before they show up in headline numbers.

• Palette: add cast or add cashflow.
• Symbol+function: AAPL CAST, MSFT FCF, NVDA CAST.

• Hero — symbol + company name + FCF MARGIN (color-coded by regime) + FCF YIELD (color-coded by yield tier). The two valuation-critical numbers in one glance.
• OCF → FCF waterfall — three columns showing operating cash flow, capex outflow, and the resulting free cash flow.
• Capital allocation — four columns showing buybacks, dividends, debt paydown, and the reinvestment residual, each as a $ amount and as a % of FCF. Tells you how the company is using its cash: returning to shareholders, de-leveraging, or reinvesting.
• Cash conversion — OCF / Net Income ratio with regime classifier (HIGH QUALITY / NORMAL / ACCRUAL-HEAVY / QUALITY CONCERN) and an interpretation paragraph that tells you what the regime means in trading terms.
• Drill-down mnemonics — DES / FA / WACC / DDIS / GF.

Six computed numbers, all from the cash-flow statement plus the income statement and market cap:

• Free Cash Flow (FCF) = OCF − Capex
• FCF Margin = FCF / Revenue · how much of every revenue dollar becomes free cash. ≥25% is exceptional, 10-25% is strong, <10% is thin.
• FCF Yield = FCF / Market Cap · the cash return for owning the equity. ≥5% is attractive, 2.5-5% is standard, <1% is growth-priced (paying up for future cash flow).
• Capital Allocation % = each line item / FCF · how the management is splitting the free cash. Companies with mature earnings tend to return ≥80% via buybacks + dividends; growth companies reinvest the bulk.
• Cash Conversion = OCF / Net Income · the earnings-quality check.

The cash conversion ratio is the highest-edge number on this panel. It compares what management says they earned (Net Income) to the cash they actually generated from operations (OCF). The four regimes:

• HIGH QUALITY (≥1.2×) — OCF exceeds reported earnings. Earnings are conservative, working-capital releases or non-cash charges flatter cash. Often mature compounders (consumer staples, tobacco, software) where earnings understate the cash machine.
• NORMAL (0.9× to 1.2×) — OCF roughly matches earnings. Standard quality.
• ACCRUAL-HEAVY (0.7× to 0.9×) — OCF lags earnings. Receivables and inventory are growing faster than collections. Often a sign of channel stuffing, end-of-quarter sales pulls, or aggressive revenue recognition. Worth checking the 10-Q for working capital footnotes.
• EARNINGS QUALITY CONCERN (<0.7×) — OCF significantly below earnings. Earnings are likely overstated; the cash machine isn't backing the income statement. Common before earnings-quality blowups (ENRON, WORLDCOM, Wirecard). Doesn't guarantee fraud — sometimes it's a one-time charge or working-capital build — but always worth investigating.

The cash conversion regime is the single most actionable number on CAST. Quants reading 13F + analyst consensus rarely flag EARNINGS QUALITY CONCERN companies before the print; CAST surfaces it before you have to read the footnotes.

Three use cases:

• Earnings-quality screen — before reading any income-statement number at face value, glance at cash conversion. If it's <0.9×, discount the EPS number and dig into the cash flow statement before committing to a thesis.
• Capital allocation thesis check — "mature compounder returning cash via buybacks" is a thesis. CAST tells you if it's actually true: are they buying back? Or just promising they will? The capital allocation breakdown shows where the FCF actually went last year.
• FCF-DCF valuation input — every FCF-DCF model needs the FCF number as the input. CAST surfaces it cleanly along with the FCF margin and yield context that frames whether the input is sustainable.

• FA — shares the FundamentalSnapshot. CAST is the cash-flow lens; FA is the valuation/profitability lens.
• WACC — the discount rate that pairs with FCF for any DCF model. CAST gives you the input; WACC gives you the discount rate.
• DDIS — for dividend-paying stocks, DDIS is one valuation framework; CAST + WACC + an FCF-DCF spreadsheet is the other.
• DES — orient on the security before reading any of the financials.