Facebook Free Cash Flow - Positive or Negative?

Facebook is apparently now Free Cash Flow positive says Inside Facebook:

From the company blog post on the news, from founder Mark Zuckerberg:

We’re also succeeding at building Facebook in a sustainable way. Earlier this year, we said we expected to be cash flow positive sometime in 2010, and I’m pleased to share that we achieved this milestone last quarter. This is important to us because it sets Facebook up to be a strong independent service for the long term.

For those not familiar, “free cash flow” means the amount of cash that a company generates after budgeting costs required to maintain and expand itself.

Free Cash Flow is also a very moveable number....... It is:

Income + Amortisation/Depreciation - Changes in Working Capital - Capital Expenditure

But the last 3 values are all open to some, ahem, "flexibility" - just ask Enron, who hid a lot of these things off their balance sheets - and they are not alone. Just changing the method of depreciation can shift from +ve to -ve for a bit or vice versa. Also, a negative free cash flow is not necessarily a bad thing if there is major capital investment going in.

By the way, Cash Flow +ve does not mean profitable! That is a different calculation.

Given that Cash Flow +ve was a 2010 target, why announce now, why not wait and make sure its not an aberration? I'm trying to see reasons for "going early" but none as yet - any ideas?*

(Could be its just reality of course, but thats too simple an explanation )

Until properly audited numbers are available treat these with extreme care though, and after they are available treat with a fine tooth comb.

*Surely they wouldn't massage the numbers to give 4 quarters of respectable financial data before an IPO