Cash flow is a critical aspect to understanding a company’s financial health and performance. It is the inflow and outflow of money that tracks all the money entering or leaving a business. Cash flow is the measure of how efficient a company can use their cash in order to generate profits. It is one of the most important concepts in finance as it is used to manage working capital and is used to value companies.

Cash flow is typically categorized into three categories: cash flows from operations, cash flows from investing, and cash flows from financing.

Cash flow from operations represents sources and uses of cash related to a company’s products or services. This includes the cash revenues generated from the sale of products and services. The primary outflows from this category include the costs involved in creating the products and services, such as raw materials and labor costs.

Cash flows from investing activities cover the cash investments made by a company in its long-term assets. This includes the purchase of equipment, land, and buildings. It also includes cash outflows when an asset is sold or exchanged.

Finally, cash flows from financing activities represent the cash inflows and outflows that a business receives or pays to its lenders or owners. This includes borrowing money or paying back loans, issuing and repurchasing debt, issuing stock, and paying dividend payments.

Several analytical techniques can be employed to analyze a company's cash flow. The debt service coverage ratio is a measure used to determine its capacity to meet its debt obligations. Free cash flow is defined as the cash available to the owners of the company after the expenses, debt repayments and other cash obligations are met. Unlevered cash flow is a calculation of the total cash flow without taking into account any leverage or debt used by the company in its business operation.

Understanding a company's cash flow is important in assessing their financial health and capacity to operate profitably. Analyzing a company's cash flow is a key part of effective financial management and can provide useful insights into a company’s operations.