In: Finance
9. Evaluating free cash flows and return on invested capital
You’re an industry analyst for the telecomm sector, and have been analyzing financial reports from two companies: Talker Corp. and MobileTalk Inc. The corporate tax rate for both firms is 35%. Your associate analyst has calculated and compiled, in the following table, a list of important figures you’ll probably need for the analysis:
Data Collected
Talker Corp. |
MobileTalk Inc. |
|
---|---|---|
EBIT | $176,300 | $64,500 |
Depreciation | $58,179 | $21,285 |
Total operating capital | $774,000 | $402,480 |
Net investment in operating capital | $387,000 | $167,700 |
WACC | 11.85% | 11.88% |
In your analysis, you want to look for several characteristics—one of them being the return on invested capital (ROIC). Using the information available, complete the following statements:
• | Talker Corp. has a free cash flow than MobileTalk Inc. does. |
• | The net operating profit after tax (NOPAT) for Talker Corp. is , whereas the NOPAT for MobileTalk Inc. is . |
• | Talker Corp. has a return on invested capital of , whereas, MobileTalk Inc. has a return on invested capital of . |
Your inference from the analysis is that both firms are in a high-growth phase, and their growth will be profitable. Considering your analysis, which of the following statements is true?
If a company has negative NOPAT but a positive free cash flow, then the firm could be in a high-growth phase and making investments in operating capital to support growth.
If a company has positive NOPAT but a negative free cash flow, then the firm could be in a high-growth phase and making investments in operating capital to support growth.