A company that generates cash isn’t automatically a winner. Some businesses stockpile cash but fail to reinvest wisely, limiting their ability to expand. Not all companies are created equal, and StockStory is here to surface the ones with real upside. That said, here is one cash-producing company that leverages its financial strength to beat its competitors and two that may struggle to keep up. Two Stocks to Sell: Elastic (ESTC) Trailing 12-Month Free Cash Flow Margin: 20.2% Built on the powerful open ...

What a time it’s been for AeroVironment. In the past six months alone, the company’s stock price has increased by a massive 106%, reaching $328.82 per share. This run-up might have investors contemplating their next move. Is now the time to buy AeroVironment, or should you be careful about including it in your portfolio? See what our analysts have to say in our full research report, it’s free for active Edge members. Why Is AeroVironment Not Exciting? We’re glad investors have benefited from the price i ...

Generating cash is essential for any business, but not all cash-rich companies are great investments. Some produce plenty of cash but fail to allocate it effectively, leading to missed opportunities. Cash flow is valuable, but it’s not everything - StockStory helps you identify the companies that truly put it to work. That said, here are three cash-producing companies to steer clear of and a few better alternatives. J. M. Smucker (SJM) Trailing 12-Month Free Cash Flow Margin: 7.7% Best known for its fr ...

Core Insights - Companies that excel in growing free cash flow margin outperform other metrics including upward earnings revisions, revenue growth, net income growth, and price momentum [1] Summary by Categories - **Free Cash Flow Margin**: Companies with a strong focus on increasing free cash flow margin demonstrate superior performance compared to other financial metrics [1] - **Earnings Revisions**: The ability to grow free cash flow margin correlates positively with upward revisions in earnings forecasts [1] - **Revenue and Net Income Growth**: Companies that enhance their free cash flow margin also tend to experience better revenue and net income growth [1] - **Price Momentum**: There is a notable relationship between growing free cash flow margin and positive price momentum in the market [1]

Core Insights - The ability to generate cash is more critical than net income for evaluating stocks, as non-cash expenses can distort the financial picture [1] - Free cash flow margin is a key profitability metric that indicates a company's ability to convert sales into cash available for shareholders [2] Company Summaries Altria Group - Altria Group leads the U.S. large-cap consumer staples sector with a free cash flow margin exceeding 42%, significantly higher than Philip Morris International's 28% [3] - The company's strong cash flow generation supports a high dividend yield of 6.9%, ranking it among the top 20 dividend yields in U.S. large-cap stocks [3] Airbnb - Airbnb has a free cash flow margin of just under 41%, leading the U.S. large-cap consumer discretionary sector [6] - The company's free cash flow increased by 108% from 2021 to 2024, reaching $4.5 billion, with a notable turnaround from a loss of $225 million in 2021 to a profit of $2.6 billion in 2024 [6][7] - A significant $1.9 billion difference exists between Airbnb's net income and free cash flow, primarily due to $1.4 billion in stock-based compensation [7] - Despite concerns about stock-based compensation diluting shares, Airbnb has engaged in $3.4 billion in buybacks to mitigate this effect, reducing its fully diluted share count by over 5% since December 2022 [8][9] Texas Pacific Land - Texas Pacific Land boasts a free cash flow margin of over 65%, the highest among U.S. large-cap stocks in the energy sector [10] - The company's royalty business model allows it to profit from leasing land rights for oil extraction without incurring the costs of extraction [11]