What does free cash flow mean?

Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and maintain or expand its capital asset base. It serves as a critical indicator of a company's ability to fund organic growth, pay down debt, or return capital to shareholders without relying on external financing.

Public Storage PSA Free cash flow

Discontinued — last reported Q1 '20

Free cash flow at other companies

U-Haul HoldingUHAL

-$147.67M+62.2%

National Storage AffiliatesNSA

$76.94M-3.7%

Janus International GroupJBI

$33.4M-20.3%

Realty IncomeO

$848.19M+10.9%

Extra Space StorageEXR

——

Equity Lifestyle PropertiesELS

——

Other financials

Income statement

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Revenue$1.2B+2.9%

Operating income$474.3M+2.2%

Net income$526.3M+29.1%

EPS (diluted)$2.71+32.8%

Balance sheet

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Cash & equivalents$134.6M-53.1%

Total debt$10.3B+9.6%

Total equity$9.2B-3.6%

Total assets$19.9B+1.2%

Cash flow

See full

Operating cash flow$694.8M-1.5%

Valuation

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Market cap$56.32B+10.7%

P/E29.6×+3.8×

P/S11.6×+0.8×

Profitability

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Gross margin72%—

Operating margin51.6%—

Net margin39.2%-2.6pp

FCF margin64.3%—

Returns & leverage

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Return on equity20.3%+0.1pp

Debt / equity1.1×+0.1×

Where this comes from

Calculated from Public Storage’s reported figures.

$463.0Mnet cash from operating−$57.5Mcapital expenditures=$405.45M

The official record: Public Storage’s 10-Q, filed April 28, 2021, on SEC EDGAR. View the filing →

Questions, answered.

What does free cash flow mean?: Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and maintain or expand its capital asset base. It serves as a critical indicator of a company's ability to fund organic growth, pay down debt, or return capital to shareholders without relying on external financing.