EBITDA VERSUS OPERATING CASH FLOW AT COMPANIES LISTED AT B3

The objective of this research is to analyze the relationship between the use of Operating Cash Flow (OCF) and the EBITDA indicator (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) of publicly traded companies trading on B3 (Brazil, Stock Exchange and OTC). For the chosen indicators, the history series from 2013 to 2019 is tested, comprising a sample of 250 publicly traded companies in the Brazilian market. Data collection took place through the Economatica database and statistical tests were performed using the STATA program for the analysis of descriptive statistics, mean test, correlation and panel data regression model. The results indicate that the EBITDA indicator and the Operating Cash Flow (OCF) show a difference in the comparison between the sample averages. In addition, the results show that operating cash flow is positively related to Ebitda and a significant relationship between them, indicating that the use of EBITDA is linked to Operating Cash Flow to analyze the potential of cash generation, including in most sectors of the B3. The contribution of this study is that publicly traded Brazilian companies have a significant relationship between EBITDA and FCO, showing that FCO influences the increase in Ebitda, reflecting investors, as this relationship reflects the companies' cash generation. However, there is a significant difference in the average, showing that in the Brazilian market EBITIDA is not considered a proxy for FCO.