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WR Berkley (WR Berkley) Free Cash Flow

: $2,876 Mil (TTM As of Dec. 2023)
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WR Berkley's total free cash flow for the months ended in Dec. 2023 was $687 Mil. Its total free cash flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2023 was $2,876 Mil.

WR Berkley's Free Cash Flow per Share for the months ended in Dec. 2023 was $2.54. Its free cash flow per share for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2023 was $10.55.

During the past 12 months, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate of WR Berkley was 16.90% per year. During the past 3 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 23.60% per year. During the past 5 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 38.20% per year. During the past 10 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 17.60% per year. Please click Growth Rate Calculation Example (GuruFocus) to see how GuruFocus calculates Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT)'s revenue growth rate. You can apply the same method to get the Free Cash Flow Growth Rate using Free Cash Flow per Share data.

During the past 13 years, WR Berkley's highest 3-Year average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 155.10% per year. The lowest was -38.90% per year. And the median was 4.90% per year.


WR Berkley Free Cash Flow Historical Data

The historical data trend for WR Berkley's Free Cash Flow can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* Premium members only.

WR Berkley Annual Data
Trend Dec14 Dec15 Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23
Free Cash Flow
Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 1,083.34 1,578.52 2,117.35 2,515.92 2,876.16

WR Berkley Quarterly Data
Mar19 Jun19 Sep19 Dec19 Mar20 Jun20 Sep20 Dec20 Mar21 Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23
Free Cash Flow Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 777.89 433.79 694.56 1,060.69 687.12

WR Berkley Free Cash Flow Calculation

Free Cash Flow is considered one of the most important parameters to measure a company's earnings power by value investors because it is not subject to estimates of Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization (DDA). However, when we look at the Free Cash Flow, we should look from a long term perspective, because any year's Free Cash Flow can be drastically affected by the spending on Property, Plant, & Equipment (PPE) of the business in that year. Over the long term, Free Cash Flow should give pretty good picture on the real earnings power of the company.

WR Berkley's Free Cash Flow for the fiscal year that ended in Dec. 2023 is calculated as

Free Cash Flow (A: Dec. 2023 )=Cash Flow from Operations+Capital Expenditure
=2929.238+-53.08
=2,876

WR Berkley's Free Cash Flow for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2023 is calculated as

Free Cash Flow (Q: Dec. 2023 )=Cash Flow from Operations+Capital Expenditure
=698.076+-10.953
=687

Free Cash Flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Dec. 2023 adds up the quarterly data reported by the company within the most recent 12 months, which was $2,876 Mil.

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.


WR Berkley  (NYSE:WRB) Free Cash Flow Explanation

Free Cash Flow is very close to Warren Buffett's definition of Owner's Earnings, except that in Warren Buffett's Owner's Earnings, the spending for Property, Plant, and Equipment is only for maintenance (replacement), while in the Free Cash Flow calculation, the cost of new Property, Plant, and Equipment due to business expansion is also deducted. There, Free Cash Flow is more conservative than Owner's Earnings.

In Don Yacktman's calculation of forward rate of return, he uses Free Cash Flow for the calculation. Yacktman explained the forward rate of return concept in detail in his interview with GuruFocus. Yacktman defines forward rate of return as the normalized free cash flow yield plus real growth plus inflation.

This is what Yacktman said in his March 2012 interview - when the S&P 500 was at 1400:

If the business is stable, this calculation is fairly straightforward. For instance, on the S&P 500 we would normalize earnings. We would then calculate what percentage of those earnings are not reinvested in the underlying businesses and are therefore free. Historically, for the S&P 500, this has been just under 50% of earnings. Currently, we expect the S&P to earn about 70 on a normalized basis, a number which is far below reported earnings due to our adjusting for record high profit margins. $70 X ½ / 1400 gives you a normalized free cash flow yield of approximately 2.5%.

The historical real growth rate of the S&P 500 (companies) is about 1.5%. Assuming an inflation rate of 2.5%, the forward rate of return on an investment in the S&P 500 is about 6.5% today (2.5% free cash flow yield plus 1.5% real growth plus 2.5% inflation).

For the growth part of the Forward Rate of Return calculation, GuruFocus uses the 5-year average growth rate of EBITDA per share as the growth rate, and the growth rate is always capped at 20%. For the Free Cash Flow we use per share data averaged over seven years. The reason we use seven years is because research shows that seven years is the length of the typical business cycle.

Therefore, as of Dec23, WR Berkley's Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % is

Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % (Dec23)=Normalized Free Cash Flow/Price+5-Year EBITDA Growth Rate
=7.12438095/70.72+0.1813
=28.20 %

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.


Be Aware

Free Cash Flow within a report period can be affected by management's decisions of capital spending. Therefore, it is important to look at long term when it comes to Free Cash Flow.


WR Berkley Free Cash Flow Related Terms

Thank you for viewing the detailed overview of WR Berkley's Free Cash Flow provided by GuruFocus.com. Please click on the following links to see related term pages.


WR Berkley (WR Berkley) Business Description

Traded in Other Exchanges
Address
475 Steamboat Road, Greenwich, CT, USA, 06830
W.R. Berkley is an insurance holding company with a host of subsidiaries that primarily underwrite commercial casualty insurance. The firm specializes in niche products that include various excess and surplus lines, workers' compensation insurance, self-insurance consulting, reinsurance, and regional commercial lines for small and midsize businesses.
Executives
Daniel Lynn Mosley director 475 STEAMBOAT ROAD, GREENWICH CT 06830
Mark Ellwood Brockbank director ROC FLEURI APT C41, 1 RUE DU TENAO, MONTE CARLO O9 98000
Jonathan Talisman director 475 STEAMBOAT ROAD, W R BERKLEY CORPORATION, GREENWICH CT 06830
Philip S Welt officer: EVP & General Counsel W. R. BERKLEY CORPORATION, 475 STEAMBOAT ROAD, GREENWICH CT 06830
James G Shiel officer: Sr.Vice Pres. - Investments C/O W R BERKLEY CORP, 475 STEAMBOAT RD, GREENWICH CT 06830
Leigh Ann Pusey director LILLY CORPORATE CENTER, INDIANAPOLIS IN 46285
Maria Luisa Ferre director PO BOX 9066590, SAN JUAN PR 00906-6590
Matthew M Ricciardi officer: SVP AND GENERAL COUNSEL W. R. BERKLEY CORPORATION, 475 STEAMBOAT ROAD, GREENWICH CT 06830
Ira S Lederman officer: SVP-General Counsel & Sec. 475 STEAMBOAT ROAD, GREENWICH CT 06830
Clement P Patafio officer: V.P.-Corp. Controller C/O W R BERKLEY CORP, 475 STEAMBOAT RD, GREENWICH CT 06830
Christopher L Augostini director C/O W. R. BERKLEY CORPORATION, 475 STEAMBOAT ROAD, GREENWICH CT 06830
Eugene G Ballard officer: Sr.V.P.- CFO & Treas. C/O W R BERKLEY CORP, 475 STEAMBOAT RD, GREENWICH CT 06830
Ronald E Blaylock director
Lucille T Sgaglione officer: Senior Vice President C/O W. R. BERKLEY CORPORATION, 475 STEAMBOAT ROAD, GREENWICH CT 06830
Jeffrey Marc Hafter officer: SVP W. R. BERKLEY CORPORATION, 475 STEAMBOAT ROAD, GREENWICH CT 06830

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