RE:Q3 That's a good question.
Free cash flow could go towards:
1) balance sheet deleveraging
2) share buybacks
3) growth capital expenditures.
That's why some investors prefer companies that pay out dividends because they at least get to benefit from these free cash flows in a tangible way. Another situation that arises is when a company has plenty of debt accumulated on its balance sheet and they use this cash just to pay down this debt. For instance, Sangoma purchases several companies and have now accumulated some debt. They could use this free cash flow to lower their principal debt payments which could go on for several years. The more debt a company has today, the less money available for growth initiatives. In a nutshell, this means that free cash flow can remain high but the growth rate in these cash flows may be modest due to deleveraging.