S&P 500 Aggregate Free Cash Flow Margin (TTM)

Live value temporarily unavailable.

Source: Company filings (aggregated)

Data updated daily

What it measures

The S&P 500 FCF margin measures aggregate free cash flow as a percentage of aggregate revenue for index constituents on a trailing-twelve-month basis. Free cash flow is operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the cash the business generates after funding the maintenance and growth of its asset base. An FCF margin of 8% means the index converts $8 of every $100 of revenue into free cash flow available for dividends, buybacks, or reinvestment.

Why it matters

Free cash flow margin is arguably the most important profitability metric for equity investors because cash flow is harder to manipulate than reported earnings, which are subject to accrual accounting choices. A wide and growing FCF margin signals not just accounting profitability but genuine cash conversion — the ability to self-fund growth and return capital to shareholders. Compression in FCF margin despite stable net margins can signal rising capital intensity, working capital deterioration, or aggressive earnings management. Sustained FCF margin expansion is historically one of the strongest predictors of long-term equity outperformance.

How it is calculated

FCF Margin (TTM) = Σ (TTM CFO − TTM Capex) ÷ Σ TTM Revenue × 100

LENSE computes the S&P 500 FCF margin as the ratio of aggregate TTM free cash flow to aggregate TTM revenue — not a simple average of per-company margins. Free cash flow per constituent is computed as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures sourced from as-reported quarterly cash flow statements; TTM figures are constructed by summing the four most recently reported quarters. Constituents with zero or negative revenue are excluded. Index constituency is resolved point-in-time using point-in-time index constituency.

Recent (monthly)

Recent data unavailable.

Data source: Company filings (aggregated). Computed and published by LENSE Analytics.