Rich E. - Of course, you are right, at least about one thing.
There are, as you say, many definitions of cashflow, as I learned when I started a (now defunct) Free Cashflow thread.
I also learned that using the free cashflow definition that involves subtracting necessary capital expenditures from net income plus depreciation has a problem: working from a 10Q, you cannot tell how much of the capital expenditure listed on the cashflow statement is "necessary" and how much is "discretionary." Nor is the management statement always that helpful. So, many services (e.g., MarketGuide) just subtract ALL capital expenditures. (Morningstar, by the way, employs a different method to calculate free cashflow.)
I use these numbers as a rough, but convenient, guide. If I regarded them as the last, ultimate truth, I would not have posted my questions here.
Your distinction between SCI/FLEXF/etc. on the one hand, and BHE & PLXS on the other is helpful.
The fact remains, however, that companies often DO overextend themselves. And I still wonder whether this may not be the case where SCI and the others are concerned.
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