Reconcile TTM Revenue and Operating Cash Flow With Quarterly Statements Using Claude MCP

A trailing-twelve-month (TTM) figure combines four quarters into one measure of a company's recent performance. Reconstructing that figure from quarterly statements helps establish which periods contributed to the total and whether they align with the published TTM record. It can also reveal whether a cumulative cash-flow value has been mistaken for a standalone quarter.

This walkthrough uses Claude and Financial Modeling Prep's MCP server to rebuild Microsoft's (MSFT) TTM revenue and operating cash flow for the twelve months ended March 31, 2026. It compares the quarter sums with FMP's TTM records, then checks the quarterly values against figures in Microsoft's filings.

The window crosses Microsoft's June 30 fiscal year end. Its first quarter, fiscal Q4 2025, can be derived from the annual total and the preceding nine-month figure. By the end, the reconciliation shows which quarters were used, how the totals were calculated, and how the filing figures compare. It tests period alignment and arithmetic; it does not assess whether Microsoft's revenue or cash flow is strong or weak.

Key takeaways

• A TTM comparison requires four consecutive quarters ending on the same date as the published TTM record.
• Cash-balance continuity can help flag a cumulative cash-flow record, but it does not prove that a value represents a discrete quarter.
• Quarterly figures can be checked against compatible filing columns. For this example, fiscal Q4 is derived from the annual figure less the first nine months.
• An alternative calculation uses annual and year-to-date filing totals to check the quarter-sum arithmetic. Both routes share underlying filing information, so their agreement is not an independent source validation.
• For this Microsoft window, both metrics reconcile with FMP's published TTM values, and the four quarterly figures agree with the filing-derived values at the filings' reported precision.

Define the TTM window

Microsoft's fiscal year ends June 30. Its fiscal-quarter labels therefore differ from calendar-quarter labels, a distinction that also matters when aligning earnings dates, fiscal quarters, and reported results.

The four quarters in the selected window are:

Fiscal quarter	Months covered	Period end
Q4 FY2025	April to June 2025	2025-06-30
Q1 FY2026	July to September 2025	2025-09-30
Q2 FY2026	October to December 2025	2025-12-31
Q3 FY2026	January to March 2026	2026-03-31

The window spans two fiscal years. For the first quarter, the workflow derives a three-month value by subtracting the nine-month FY2025 figure from the full FY2025 figure.

Turn cumulative filing figures into quarters

When a filing presents a cumulative year-to-date (YTD) figure, a discrete quarter can be derived by subtracting the preceding cumulative period. The figures being subtracted need to represent compatible line items, fiscal periods, and reporting versions.

Fiscal quarter	Calculation	Filing inputs used in this example
Q1	Three-month YTD	Q1 10-Q
Q2	Six-month YTD minus three-month YTD	Q2 and Q1 10-Qs
Q3	Nine-month YTD minus six-month YTD	Q3 and Q2 10-Qs
Q4	Annual total minus nine-month YTD	10-K and Q3 10-Q for the same fiscal year

This run uses original filings and checks whether recasts affect the lines being compared. Other analyses may use a different filing version policy, provided the inputs are compatible and the selected versions are identified. A standalone quarterly figure, when presented in a filing, provides another point of comparison.

Check cash continuity

A cash-flow record that represents a cumulative period may begin with the fiscal-year opening cash balance rather than the previous quarter's ending balance. Comparing beginning cash with the prior quarter's ending cash can therefore flag a record for closer review.

The test is a diagnostic. A match is consistent with a discrete quarter but does not prove it. Fiscal Q1 starts at the beginning of the fiscal year whether the value is described as quarterly or YTD, so a Q1 match cannot distinguish the two. The filing comparison supplies the stronger check for this example.

FMP data and Claude setup

The workflow retrieves quarterly values from FMP's income statement and cash flow statement data, then compares them with the corresponding TTM records. FMP's statement parsing methodology explains how standardized statement fields are built.

The filing step also uses FMP. The operation names below are the identifiers used by the MCP statements tool in this run; they are not presented as REST URL paths.

MCP operation	Inputs	Purpose
income-statement	MSFT, quarterly, limit 6	Quarterly revenue and period identifiers
cashflow-statement	MSFT, quarterly, limit 6	Quarterly operating cash flow and cash balances
income-statements-ttm	MSFT, limit 3	Published TTM revenue
cashflow-statements-ttm	MSFT, limit 3	Published TTM operating cash flow
financial-reports-form-10-k-json	MSFT; FY2025 Q3 and FY; FY2026 Q1, Q2, and Q3	Filing figures, period metadata, and accounting-policy notes

To connect Claude, follow the FMP MCP setup instructions. In Claude's connector settings, add the FMP MCP server URL with your own FMP API key:

https://financialmodelingprep.com/mcp?apikey=YOUR_FMP_API_KEY

Run the following prompts in order in one conversation, reviewing each output before continuing. This example was retrieved on October 22, 2026. Amounts are shown in USD millions, while the arithmetic uses the values returned by FMP.

If a required value is missing in another run, the relevant reconciliation remains incomplete until the input is retrieved or otherwise verified. A missing value should never be treated as zero. Any separately derived filing value should be labeled rather than substituted silently for an unavailable FMP value.

Step 1: Establish the four quarters

The first prompt retrieves six quarters, identifies the four in the target window, and compares each quarter's beginning cash with the previous quarter's ending cash. It does not calculate TTM yet.

Using the connected FMP MCP server, start a trailing-twelve-month (TTM) reconciliation for Microsoft (MSFT). Objective Establish the four fiscal quarters in the TTM window ending March 31, 2026 (fiscal Q3 2026). Microsoft's fiscal year ends June 30. Do not calculate the TTM yet. Data rules - Use only the FMP statements tool in this step. - If a request fails, retry it once. If a value is still missing, report Unavailable. Never replace a missing value with zero. Steps 1. Call the statements tool with endpoint income-statement and with endpoint cashflow-statement, symbol MSFT, period quarter, limit 6. If the earliest record ends after 2025-03-31, raise the limit until the quarter ending 2025-03-31 is included. 2. Keep date, fiscalYear, period, filingDate, reportedCurrency, revenue, netCashProvidedByOperatingActivities, cashAtBeginningOfPeriod and cashAtEndOfPeriod. 3. Match income-statement and cash-flow records on date, fiscalYear and period. Flag any record that does not match. 4. Identify the four in-window quarters and confirm they are consecutive, with no gap or duplicate period end. 5. Continuity diagnostic: compare each record's cashAtBeginningOfPeriod with the prior quarter's cashAtEndOfPeriod. Report Pass, Fail, or Not testable if the prior quarter was not retrieved. Note that a fiscal Q1 record passes whether it is discrete or year-to-date. Treat the result as a diagnostic only; do not mark a quarter invalid because the test is Not testable. 6. Show values in USD millions; use the retrieved values for any arithmetic. Output Start with a run summary: run date, company, target window, operations called and any data limitation. Then return Table 1 with these columns: Fiscal period | Period end | Filing date | Revenue (USD M) | Operating cash flow (USD M) | Beginning cash (USD M) | Prior-quarter ending cash (USD M) | Continuity diagnostic | In window After the table, state in at most two sentences whether four consecutive quarters were established and which quarters still need filing confirmation. Do not comment on trends.

Quarterly records returned

Fiscal period	Period end	Filing date	Revenue	Operating cash flow	Beginning cash	Prior-quarter ending cash	Continuity	In window
FY2026 Q4	2026-06-30	2026-07-29	90,007	55,441	32,105	32,105	Pass	No
FY2026 Q3	2026-03-31	2026-04-29	82,886	46,679	24,296	24,296	Pass	Yes
FY2026 Q2	2025-12-31	2026-01-28	81,273	35,758	28,849	28,849	Pass	Yes
FY2026 Q1	2025-09-30	2025-10-29	77,673	45,057	30,242	30,242	Pass	Yes
FY2025 Q4	2025-06-30	2025-07-30	76,441	42,647	28,828	28,828	Pass	Yes
FY2025 Q3	2025-03-31	2025-04-30	70,066	37,044	17,482	Prior quarter not retrieved	Not testable	No

Source: FMP quarterly income and cash-flow statements, retrieved October 22, 2026. Values are USD millions. FY2026 Q4 is shown for continuity but is outside the target window.

The records establish four consecutive quarters from FY2025 Q4 through FY2026 Q3. All four pass the cash-continuity diagnostic. The earliest retrieved row is outside the TTM window and cannot be tested because its preceding quarter was not retrieved. Fiscal Q1's pass does not distinguish a quarterly figure from a cumulative figure; the filing check follows in Step 3.

Step 2: Compare the quarter sum with published TTM

The second prompt sums the four selected quarters and compares the results with FMP's TTM records for the same period end. A zero difference indicates that the values agree at the returned precision.

Continue the MSFT TTM reconciliation using the quarters in Table 1. Objective Compare the calculated TTM revenue and operating cash flow for the window ending March 31, 2026 with FMP's published TTM records. Data rules - Use only the FMP statements tool. Retry a failed request once; report Unavailable if a record is still missing. Steps 1. Call the statements tool with endpoint income-statements-ttm and with endpoint cashflow-statements-ttm, symbol MSFT, limit 3. If no record is dated 2026-03-31, raise the limit until one is included or the list ends. List every record returned, with date and fiscal period. 2. Select the record dated 2026-03-31 and confirm its fiscalYear and period are FY2026 Q3. If none exists, stop and report Review Required. 3. Calculated TTM = sum of the four in-window quarters, using the values as retrieved. 4. Difference = Calculated TTM minus Published TTM, at the precision FMP returned. 5. Status: Reconciled if the difference is zero. Explained Difference if it is non-zero and tied to a documented window, cumulative-period, revision or definition cause, or to rounding shown by arithmetic. Otherwise Review Required. Output Table 2 columns: Record date | Fiscal period | TTM revenue (USD M) | TTM operating cash flow (USD M) | Used Table 3 columns: Metric | Reporting window | Contributing periods (USD M) | Calculated TTM (USD M) | Published TTM (USD M) | Difference (USD M) | Supporting explanation | Review status After the tables, explain any non-zero difference in at most two sentences. Do not add other metrics.

Select the matching record

Record date	Fiscal period	TTM revenue	TTM operating cash flow	Use
2026-06-30	FY2026 Q4	331,839	182,935	Later-ending window
2026-03-31	FY2026 Q3	318,273	170,141	Selected window
2025-12-31	FY2026 Q2	305,453	160,506	Earlier-ending window

Source: FMP income and cash-flow TTM records, retrieved October 22, 2026. Values are USD millions.

The latest record is not necessarily the right comparison. Selecting June 30, 2026 instead of March 31 would create differences of −13,566millionforrevenueand-12,794 million for operating cash flow because the records cover different windows.

Reconciliation for the window ended March 31, 2026

Metric	Four contributing quarters, FY2025 Q4 to FY2026 Q3	Calculated TTM	Published TTM	Difference	Status
Revenue	76,441 + 77,673 + 81,273 + 82,886	318,273	318,273	0	Reconciled
Operating cash flow	42,647 + 45,057 + 35,758 + 46,679	170,141	170,141	0	Reconciled

USD millions. Difference equals calculated TTM minus the published FMP TTM record. The returned figures were whole US dollars and, in this run, exact multiples of one million dollars.

The match establishes consistency between the FMP quarterly and TTM records for this window. The next step checks the quarterly values against the company's filing figures.

Step 3: Verify the quarters against Microsoft's filings

The third prompt retrieves five filings through FMP, derives discrete quarters from the filing columns, and compares them with the quarterly records. It also calculates TTM using the annual total plus the current year's nine-month total less the prior year's nine-month total.

Continue the MSFT TTM reconciliation. Verify the four in-window quarters against Microsoft's filings. Objective Confirm that each FMP quarterly value matches the filed figures, and recompute the TTM from filing totals as an independent check. Data rules - Use the FMP statements tool, endpoint financial-reports-form-10-k-json, symbol MSFT, for these five filings: year 2025 period Q3 (10-Q, period ended March 31, 2025) year 2025 period FY (10-K, fiscal year ended June 30, 2025) year 2026 period Q1 (10-Q, period ended September 30, 2025) year 2026 period Q2 (10-Q, period ended December 31, 2025) year 2026 period Q3 (10-Q, period ended March 31, 2026) - For each response, report Document Type, Document Period End Date and Amendment Flag. Use only original filings (Amendment Flag false). - If a filing cannot be retrieved after one retry, report Unavailable for every value that depends on it. Do not use another source. Steps 1. From each filing, record Revenue and Net cash from operations as presented, with the column header (3, 6, 9 or 12 months ended) and the line caption. 2. Derive each discrete quarter with this rule, showing the arithmetic: Q1 = three-month YTD Q2 = six-month YTD minus three-month YTD Q3 = nine-month YTD minus six-month YTD Q4 = annual total minus nine-month YTD Take each YTD from that quarter's own filing. Subtract only inputs with the same caption and fiscal year, from original filings, with no recast of that line between them. 3. If a filing also presents a three-month column for a derived quarter, record it as a cross-check. 4. Compare each derived quarter with the FMP quarterly value from Table 1 at the filing's reported precision (USD millions). Keep the FMP value beside the filing-derived value. 5. Revision check: compare the three-month and nine-month FY2025 figures in the Q3 FY2025 10-Q with the prior-year columns of the Q3 FY2026 10-Q. Limit the conclusion to the figures compared. 6. Filing-route TTM = FY2025 annual + nine months FY2026 minus nine months FY2025, using filing values only. 7. Quote any recast language in each filing's accounting policies note and state whether it affects revenue or net cash from operations. 8. Confidence: High if every quarter agrees; Medium if one quarter could not be checked and the rest agree; Low if any conflict. Mark any conflict Review Required. Output Table 4 columns: Quarter | Derivation rule | Filing inputs, revenue / OCF (USD M) | Filing-derived revenue (USD M) | FMP revenue (USD M) | Filing-derived OCF (USD M) | FMP OCF (USD M) | Three-month cross-check | Match Table 5 columns: Metric | FY2025 annual (USD M) | Plus nine months FY2026 (USD M) | Less nine months FY2025 (USD M) | Filing-route TTM (USD M) | Quarter-sum TTM (USD M) | Published FMP TTM (USD M) Then give the filing checks, revision result, recast language and confidence, one short line each.

The filing documents are available for direct reading: Q3 FY2025 10-Q, FY2025 10-K, Q1 FY2026 10-Q, Q2 FY2026 10-Q, and Q3 FY2026 10-Q. In this run, the figures were read from FMP's filing responses; the links allow readers to examine the documents directly.

Filing-derived quarters

Quarter	Filing calculation: revenue	Filing revenue	FMP revenue	Filing calculation: operating cash flow	Filing OCF	FMP OCF
FY2025 Q4	281,724 − 205,283	76,441	76,441	136,162 − 93,515	42,647	42,647
FY2026 Q1	Three-month figure	77,673	77,673	Three-month figure	45,057	45,057
FY2026 Q2	158,946 − 77,673	81,273	81,273	80,815 − 45,057	35,758	35,758
FY2026 Q3	241,832 − 158,946	82,886	82,886	127,494 − 80,815	46,679	46,679

USD millions. Q4 uses FY2025 annual less nine months. Q2 and Q3 use the current cumulative figure less the preceding cumulative figure. Each filing-derived amount agrees with the corresponding FMP quarterly value at the filing's reported precision.

The Q2 and Q3 filings also present three-month columns, which agree with the derived revenue and operating cash-flow figures. For FY2025 Q4, the comparison uses the annual total less nine months. In each subtraction, the run used the same line-item caption and fiscal year and checked whether a recast affected the selected measure.

An alternative calculation from filing totals

Metric	FY2025 annual	Add nine months FY2026	Subtract nine months FY2025	Filing-route TTM	Quarter-sum TTM	Published FMP TTM
Revenue	281,724	241,832	205,283	318,273	318,273	318,273
Operating cash flow	136,162	127,494	93,515	170,141	170,141	170,141

USD millions. The filing route uses the FY2025 10-K and nine-month figures from the FY2025 and FY2026 Q3 10-Qs.

This route checks the arithmetic and window construction without summing four displayed quarter values. Because it shares underlying filing totals with the quarterly derivations, the agreement should be read alongside the individual filing comparisons rather than as an entirely independent source check.

The five FMP filing responses identified the expected document types and period ends, with amendment flags marked false. The FY2025 Q3 three- and nine-month figures for revenue and operating cash flow also matched the prior-year columns in the FY2026 Q3 filing. That comparison covers those figures only; it is not a general claim that no other line was revised.

Microsoft disclosed recasts of prior-period segment information in the FY2025 documents and certain prior-period cash-flow amounts in the FY2026 Q2 and Q3 documents. The disclosed changes did not affect the revenue or net operating cash-flow totals used in this example. With all four quarterly values matching the filing-derived figures, the run assigns high confidence to this reconciliation.

How to interpret the result

Microsoft's TTM revenue for the window ended March 31, 2026 was $318,273 million, and its TTM operating cash flow was $170,141 million. Both figures equal the sum of FMP's four quarterly records and the corresponding published TTM values. Each quarterly value also agrees with the filing-derived comparison at USD-million precision.

The result applies to two measures and one reporting window. It does not establish the accuracy of every field, prove that a historical value was available on a particular trading date, or assess Microsoft's financial performance. A separate as-of-date screening workflow addresses the timing question when point-in-time availability matters.

Adapt the workflow to another company

Start by mapping the company's fiscal calendar and selecting a TTM record whose end date matches the last quarter in the intended window. Identify the filing columns that support each quarter, check the definitions and versions of the underlying lines, and compare any standalone quarter presented with the derived value.

Differences can arise from a mismatched window, cumulative values, revisions, definitions, or rounding. Keep the source values visible and document the cause before treating a difference as explained. If a required input or verification is missing, label the comparison incomplete. A filing-derived value can be shown separately, but it should not silently replace an unavailable FMP quarterly figure. When more than one quarter cannot be verified, the workflow cannot support high or medium confidence under the rules used here and requires further review.

Once the window and sources are documented, the reconciled values can support additional research. Revenue and operating cash flow can become inputs to a revenue quality assessment, while operating cash flow can also inform a dividend sustainability review. The same window discipline supports a capex efficiency study. Keeping the reconciliation with the resulting model or screen makes its figures traceable to their contributing periods and filings.