4. ASSETS & EQUITY
ARE THERE ENOUGH CURRENT
ASSETS (CASH & EQUIVALENTS) TO
COVER CURRENT LIABILITIES?
DOES EQUITY EXCEED DEBT?
SIZE | LIQUIDITY | SOLVENCY
5. THESE TRAITS GIVE INVESTORS A
SENSE OF COSTCO'S GROWTH
POTENTIAL, AS WELL AS OF THE
VULNERABILITY OF ITS BUSINESS
MODEL.
6. BEFORE DIGGING INTO THESE
TRAITS, LET’S BRIEFLY REVIEW THE
BALANCE SHEET ITSELF.
7. EQUITY
LIABILITIES
ASSETS
THE BALANCE SHEET
1. THE BALANCE SHEET
REVEALS A COMPANY’S
ASSETS, LIABILITIES,
AND OWNERS’ EQUITY
ON THE FINAL DAY OF A
FISCAL QUARTER OR
YEAR.
2. THIS IS WHY IT’S
OFTEN REFERRED TO AS
A SNAPSHOT OF A
COMPANY’S FINANCIAL
CONDITION.
3. THE “ACCOUNTING
EQUATION” HOLDS THAT
ASSETS MUST ALWAYS
EQUAL LIABILITIES PLUS
OWNERS’ EQUITY.
15. IT’S CALCULATED BY DIVIDING A
COMPANY’S CURRENT ASSETS BY ITS
CURRENT LIABILITIES.
16. $19 BILLION
$18 BILLION
= 1.03
COSTCO'S CURRENT
ASSETS
COSTCO'S CURRENT
LIABILITIES
COSTCO'S CURRENT
RATIO
17. HOW DOES COSTCO'S CURRENT
RATIO COMPARE TO THAT OF OTHER
LARGE-CAP STOCKS?
18. -
1
2
3
4
5
6
← 100 BIGGEST S&P 500 COMPANIES →
←CURRENTRATIO→
54% OF S&P 500 COMPANIES
HAVE CURRENT RATIOS
BETWEEN 0.75 AND 2.0
THE CURRENT RATIOS OF THE 100
BIGGEST S&P 500 COMPANIES
19. BY THIS MEASURE, THEN, COSTCO'S
LIQUIDITY IS WITHIN THE USUAL
RANGE, FALLING BETWEEN 0.75 AND
2.0.
24. THERE’S NO HARD-AND-FAST RULE
WHEN IT COMES TO THE DEBT-TO-
EQUITY RATIO, THOUGH A SMALLER
RATIO (LESS THAN 1) IMPLIES THAT A
COMPANY IS BETTER POSITIONED TO
SURVIVE AN INTERUPTION TO ITS
REVENUE.
25. HOW DOES COSTCO'S DEBT-TO-EQUITY
RATIO COMPARE?
2.98
2.17
0.74
0.49
0.28 0.20
0.56
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
IBM MCD AA PG JNJ XOM COST
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