Which key financial metric is essential to DCF evaluations?

Cash flow is an essential financial metric in discounted cash flow (DCF) evaluations because it provides a clear picture of the actual money that a business generates and can distribute to its investors. Unlike net income, which can be influenced by non-cash items and accounting practices, cash flow reflects immediate liquidity and is critical for assessing a company's ability to sustain and grow its operations, pay debts, and return value to shareholders.

In a DCF analysis, future cash flows are projected and discounted back to their present value to estimate the worth of an investment or business. Thus, having an accurate representation of cash flow ensures that the valuation reflects the true economic reality of the business.

Revenue and gross profit, while important, do not directly indicate the financial health of a company as they do not account for expenses or the cash generated from core operations. Net income can be affected by various accounting policies and may not accurately represent cash availability for investment or distribution. Therefore, cash flow stands out as the most relevant metric for DCF evaluations.