Price-to-free-cash-flow ratio (P/FCF)
Market value divided by the cash the business generated after investing in itself.
Price to free cash flow works like the P/E ratio but uses free cash flow instead of accounting profit. Cash is harder to flatter than earnings, so it is a useful second opinion.
Its inverse is the free cash flow yield. A P/FCF of 25 is a 4% yield.
Where it misleads. Free cash flow swings with investment cycles: a company building factories looks expensive, one that has stopped investing looks cheap. Stock-based compensation is added back in operating cash flow, which makes companies that pay staff in shares look better than they are.
Price to free cash flow across the S&P 500 today
441 companies with a meaningful value, as of Oct 11, 2026. Full ranked list.
Highest in the S&P 500
| Axon Enterprise Inc. AXON | 482.4x |
|---|---|
| Vistra Corp. VST | 426.7x |
| Amazon.com Inc AMZN | 358.7x |
| CoStar Group Inc CSGP | 302.1x |
| Coherent Inc COHR | 282.1x |
| Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR | 230.4x |
| Tesla Inc TSLA | 209.7x |
| Seagate Technology PLC STX | 197.2x |
| Marvell Technology Group Ltd MRVL | 185.0x |
| Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co HPE | 158.1x |
Lowest in the S&P 500
| Synchrony Financial SYF | 2.57x |
|---|---|
| Corteva Inc CTVA | 3.10x |
| Charter Communications Inc CHTR | 3.24x |
| Comcast Corp CMCSA | 3.39x |
| MetLife Inc MET | 3.63x |
| Ford Motor Company F | 3.74x |
| MGM Resorts International MGM | 4.33x |
| Everest Group Ltd EG | 4.39x |
| Capital One Financial Corporation COF | 4.90x |
| Principal Financial Group Inc PFG | 5.25x |
Median price to free cash flow by sector
S&P 500 companies only. Sectors differ a lot, so compare a company with its own sector first.
| Sector | Median | Companies |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | 39.1x | 8 |
| Industrials | 27.3x | 71 |
| Basic Materials | 27.1x | 13 |
| Technology | 25.7x | 81 |
| Healthcare | 22.6x | 55 |
| Consumer Cyclical | 22.3x | 50 |
| Energy | 21.7x | 21 |
| Communication Services | 21.2x | 20 |
| Consumer Defensive | 20.3x | 29 |
| Real Estate | 20.0x | 26 |
| Financial Services | 12.4x | 67 |
Questions
What is Price to free cash flow?
Market value divided by the cash the business generated after investing in itself.
How is Price to free cash flow calculated?
P/FCF = market cap ÷ free cash flow (operating cash flow − capital spending).
What is a normal price to free cash flow?
Across 441 S&P 500 companies, the median is 22.0x; the middle half sits between 14.5x and 35.0x. It varies a lot by sector.
Related terms
Live figures from the latest prices and SEC filings. Information only, not investment advice. Updated October 9, 2026.