The amount of net cash generated by an investment or a business during a specific period. One measure of cash flow is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Because cash is the fuel that drives a business, many analysts consider cash flow to be a company's most important financial statistic. Firms with large cash flows are frequently takeover targets because acquiring firms know that the cash can be used to help pay off the costs of the acquisitions. See also free cash flow.