Judging upon the latest cash flow statement of Blue Apron Holdings Inc., it is appropriate to note that, in general, the company’s profit has seen a decrease, albeit fairly gradual. In recent years, since 2018, its net income growth was reduced by two – starting at 49,9% in 2018 and ending at 24,4% in 2020 (MarketWatch). This is one of the main characteristics investors are advised to look at – a persistent, decreasing trend. However, this trend is incomplete without other factors, such as the depreciation of tangible assets, which can characterize a company as excellent at distributing its finances.
Subsequently, looking at Blue Apron’s investing activities would be useful for a potential creditor because it gives the idea of how a company sustains and manages itself. Despite last year’s results in that area still not being majorly positive, the activities of most interest are net investing cash flow growth and capital expenditures growth. The first one is a good criterion of how the company manages its investments in a crisis like 2020. Although its niche is in high demand during the pandemic, the company was quite modest with its revenue growth and expenses. The capital expenditures growth, marked at -14.8%, characterized it as being a mindful decision-maker in the critical time – the company is less likely to take a risk to invest in a new opportunity (MarketWatch). Therefore, it marks it as being a stability-oriented company, which is preferable for a creditor.
The business’ financing activities are characterized by a similar trend of decrease or little growth, except for a few positions in the chart. A huge increase is seen in net financing cash flow, which signals a higher rate of economic activity overall – this is a positive characteristic for creditors since none of them want to lend money to a withering business. Another important point for a creditor is the company’s change in long-term debt, which showed better results in the previous years, going from 194K in 2017 to 41K the next year (MarketWatch). However, this year a decrease is minimal for obvious reasons – this year’s results may not be as characteristic; the earlier ones have greater value for a relevant assessment.
References
Blue Apron Holdings Inc. (2021). MarketWatch, Web.