Fair enough, I got hung up on the lack of guarantees to distribute code alongside compiled applications.

Would you say compiled MIT programs are still "free software" when they don't come with the source code?

You're confusing free software[0] with freeware[1]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeware

Although it is often the case that free software (or libre software, or whatever you want to call it) is available at no cost, the term "free software" generally does not refer to the price but to the given freedoms.