Corporate Finance Ratios
An integral part of a company's investment analysis/evaluation
What are Corporate Finance Ratios?
Corporate finance ratios, often referred to as financial ratios, are metrics that provide an analytical perspective on the financial condition and operational results of a company.
Corporate finance ratios are used by analysts, investors, and management to assess a company's financial performance, stability, and profitability by comparing different financial figures extracted from the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement.
They are an integral part of a company's investment analysis/evaluation. In addition, these ratios help understand the financial health of the company.
Ratios help benchmark the performance of companies in a particular sector; by comparing the concerned company's financial ratios with that of companies from the same industry, one can understand the plight of finances.
Financial ratios can also be used to compare a company's current performance to its past performance to understand its growth. Sometimes, ratios are also compared with the overall economy of the country.
Key Takeaways
- Corporate finance ratios are vital tools in investment analysis, offering insights into a company's financial health and performance.
- Corporate finance ratios allow comparisons between companies within the same sector, aiding investors in understanding a company's standing relative to its peers.
- Corporate finance ratios span categories like Liquidity, Debt Management, Asset Management, Profitability, and Return to Investors, providing a comprehensive view of a company's financial landscape.
- Understanding Corporate finance ratios involves a deep dive into various metrics, from liquidity indicators like current and quick ratios to profitability measures such as ROE and net profit margins.
Types Of Corporate Finance Ratios
Ratios can be broadly divided into 5 categories: Liquidity, Debt Management, Asset Management, Profitability, and return to investors:
| Category | Subcategory | Specific Ratios/Measures |
|---|---|---|
| A) Liquidity | 1. Short-run Solvency | Current ratio, Quick ratio, Cash ratio, CFO ratio & Defensive interval. |
| 2. Liquidity of Current Assets | Collection period, Days inventory held, Days payables outstanding & Net trade cycle. | |
| B) Debt Management | 1. Amount of debt | Debt to assets & Debt to equity Long-term debt to total capital. |
| 2. Coverage of Debt | Times interest earned, CFO to interest & CFO to debt Cash flow adequacy. | |
| C) Asset Management | Operating efficiency, Receivable turnover, Inventory turnover, Fixed asset turnover & Asset turnover Return on assets | |
| D) Profitability | 1. Margins | Gross Profit Margin, Operating Profit Margin & Net Profit Margin |
| 2. Returns | ROIC, Cash, ROA, ROA & ROE | |
| E) Return to Investors | Earnings per share, ROE, ROCE, Dividend yield, Dividend payout & P/E |
Let us understand all the corporate financial ratios and how their variations help investors make investment decisions.
Liquidity Ratios
Liquidity ratios indicate the ability of a firm to pay off its debt and have a sustainable business without any external financing. Some of the ratios are:
| Ratio | Formula | Description | Additional Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current Ratio | Current Ratio = Current assets/ Current liabilities | This ratio helps understand the ability of the firm to meet its short-term obligations using its current assets. The ratio is better used only as a comparison between two companies in the same sector. | 1 is the absolute threshold for this ratio; if the company’s current ratio is less than 1(i.e., current liabilities are greater than current assets), then the company won’t be able to meet its short-term obligations. |
| Quick Ratio | Quick Ratio = (Cash + Marketable securities + Net receivables)/ Current liabilities | It is also known as the acid test ratio. This ratio is a modified version of the current ratio. Like the Current Ratio, the quick ratio measures the ability of a firm to meet its short-term obligations. | This ratio considers only the most liquid assets, i.e., that are quickly available hence the name quick ratio. It doesn’t include inventory and prepaid expenses in its current assets. Again, one is a recommended threshold, quick ratio greater than 1 is preferred. However, it can vary from sector to sector. |
| Cash Ratio | Cash Ratio = (Cash + Marketable Securities)/ Current liabilities | The cash ratio helps understand a company’s likelihood of paying short-term obligations only with the available cash & cash equivalents. The difference between the quick ratio and cash ratio is the term net receivables in the numerator. | Net receivables are the total money owed by a company to its customers; it can be in the form of EMI/ loans, etc. |
| CFO Ratio | CFO Ratio = CFO/ Average current liabilities | This ratio takes into consideration the cash generated from operating activities and the ability of cash generated from operating activities to meet its short-term obligations. | |
| Defensive interval | Defensive interval = 365 * (Cash + Marketable securities + Net receivables)/ Projected expenditures (= COGS + Other operating expenses except depreciation) | The defensive interval ratio or defensive interval period estimates the number of days a company can survive using only its defensive assets without the aid of any external financial resources. | Since the ratio gives values in terms of days, we have a multiple of 365 in the numerator. Defensive assets are assets that provide steady income. These investments generally have lower returns and lower risk. |
| Working capital | Working Capital = Current assets - Current liabilities |
Activity Ratios
Companies might use assets to the fullest capacity or might not be able to optimize the usage of assets. To understand this, we have activity ratios. Let us understand various activity ratios and how they affect investment decisions:
| Ratio | Formula | Description | Additional Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receivable turnover | Receivable turnover = Net credit sales/ Average net trade (Accounts) receivables | This ratio measures the ability of customers to collect their receivables. | |
| Average receivables collection day | Average receivables collection day = 365/ Receivable turnover | Companies provide credit to their customers. The average receivables collection period calculates the average number of days in which the company receives its payments. The lower the ratio, the better liquidity is maintained in the company. | It also helps the company plan future investments/expenditures. A very low average receivables collection period can push away customers as it may have strict credit policies. |
| Inventory turnover | Inventory turnover = Cost of goods sold/ Average total inventory | The inventory turnover ratio calculates how often the inventory is sold and replaced. The higher the ratio value, the more efficiently the inventory is managed. | |
| Average days in inventory in stock | Average days in inventory in stock = 365/ Inventory turnover | Days on average indicate a company’s efficiency in handling inventory stocks. It measures the average number of days a company stores its inventory before selling. | |
| Payables turnover | Payables turnover = Purchases(COGS + change in inventory) / Average accounts payable | This ratio calculates the average rate at which companies pay off the short-term debt they owe to their stakeholders. The higher the ratio, the higher the company's efficiency to pay off its short-term debts. | |
| Average days payables outstanding | Average days payables outstanding = 365/Payables | This ratio gives the number of days a company takes to repay its short-term debt. Average days payables outstanding measures the number of days or time period, while payables turnover measures the frequency. | Days payable outstanding is an important parameter for cash flow monitoring. Using this, one can find an optimum between accounts payable and accounts receivables. Low and high days payable outstanding can be understood as similar to Payables turnover, except the hypothesis will be reversed for the two cases. |
| Operating cycle | Operating cycle = Receivables collection days + Inventory holding days | This measures the number of days for a complete business cycle to occur. | |
| Net trade cycle or cash cycle | Net trade cycle or cash cycle = Operating cycle - Average days payables outstanding | The threshold for the net trade cycle is zero. If the cash cycle is positive, the company funds its process with a line of credit; if it is negative, it uses its funds to give credit to its customers. | The threshold for the net trade cycle is zero. If the cash cycle is positive, the company funds its process with a line of credit; if it is negative, it uses its funds to give credit to its customers. |
| Working capital turnover | Working capital turnover = Net sales/ Average working capital | This ratio portrays the effectiveness of the company in managing its working capital; a higher ratio is preferred. After a point, the company is suggested to raise capital for more working capital. | |
| Fixed asset turnover | Fixed asset turnover = Net sales/ Average net fixed assets | As this ratio calculates sales generated per fixed capital, it helps understand how effectively the company manages its fixed assets. This ratio doesn’t comment on the company’s cash flow efficiency but suggests fixed asset usage. |
Profitability Ratios
Profitability ratios evaluate business efficiency in revenue and profit generation. Let us have a look at various Profitability Ratios and how they affect various decision-making processes:
| Ratio | Formula | Description | Additional Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity (ROE) | Return on equity (ROE) = Net income/ Average total shareholders’ equity | It is also known as return on net assets. Return on equity is preferred to have as high a value as possible; this ratio cannot be too high to be a red flag. | |
| Return on Assets (ROA) | Return on Assets (ROA) = [Net income + Interest expense * (1 - tax rate)]/ Average total assets | This ratio measures the company's efficiency in generating profits per total asset. Comparing with other companies in the same sector makes sense as most of the companies have a similar set of asset bases. | The difference between ROA and ROE is that ROE doesn’t consider a company’s debt, thus making ROA a better ratio for comparison. Another variation for ROA is Operating income*(1-tax rate)/Total Assets. A good ROA has no particular value; it varies from industry to industry. |
| Return on invested capital (ROIC) | Return on invested Capital (ROIC) = (NOPAT/ Average invested capital) | This ratio measures a business's after-tax, pre-financing profits to the average invested capital. | |
| The gross profit margin on sales | The gross profit margin on sales = (Net sales - COGS = Gross profit margin)/ Net sales | The gross profit margin on sales is a widely used ratio to measure a company’s ability to generate profits. | |
| Operating Margin | Operating Margin = EBIT/ Net sales | This ratio helps understand the level of profitability/ the efficiency of profit generation. Higher ratios are preferred. | |
| The net profit margin on sales | The net profit margin on sales = Net income/ Net sales | ||
| Cash return on assets | Cash return on assets = CFO/ Average total assets | Cash return on assets is one of the most important parameters in investment-related decisions. A high CROA indicates high earnings per total asset and high efficiency. | Businesses in the same sector/industry are compared before making any investments. |
| Earnings per share (EPS) | Earnings per share (EPS) = Net income less preferred dividends/ Weighted common shares outstanding | ||
| Price-earnings ratio (P-E) | Price-earnings ratio(P-E) = Market price of stock/ Earnings per share | The price-earnings ratio is a widely used metric to evaluate a company’s financials. This ratio helps understand if a company is overvalued or undervalued. A higher ratio suggests overvaluations. | This ratio, like other ratios, doesn’t give complete information. Hence, comparing with other companies from the same sector/industry is suggested. A lower P/E ratio indicates an investment opportunity. |
| Market-to-book ratio | Market to book ratio = Market value of equity/ Book value of equity | The market-to-book ratio, also known as the price-to-book ratio, is calculated by dividing the company’s stock price(market price share) by its book value per share. Book value is the value of tangible assets. | A lower market-to-book ratio is a preferred level for investment purposes, as it suggests the possibility of an undervalued stock price. |
| Dividend payout | Dividend payout = Cash dividends paid on common equity /Net income | ||
| Dividend yield | Dividend yield = Cash dividends paid per share of common equity/ Price per share |
Solvency Ratios
Solvency ratios assess the financial health of the company and evaluate the cash flows of the company, leverage, etc., to understand if the company would be able to pay back in case of solvency, bankruptcy, etc. Let's take a look at some of the ratios below
| Ratio | Formula | Description | Additional Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial leverage | Financial leverage = Total (average) assets/Total (average) shareholders’ equity | Leverage is one of the most popular ways of increasing wealth. The term suggests the use of debt to increase investments. Ratio provides ways a company finances its operations. | |
| Times interest earned (TIE) | Times interest earned (TIE) = EBIT/ Interest expense | Times interest earned measures a company’s ability to meet its debt interest rate using income(EBIT). In this case, a higher ratio is preferred as it suggests the good financial health of the company. | |
| CFO to debt | CFO to debt = (CFO + interest and taxes paid in cash)/ Average total liabilities | The operating cash flow to debt ratio indicates the company’s financial health. A higher ratio suggests the company has a better ability to pay off its debt using operating cash flow. | |
| Cash flow adequacy | Cash flow adequacy = CFO/ (CAPEX + debt and dividends payments) | Cash flow adequacy like liquidity ratio determines a company’s ability to pay its current debts. However, along with current debt, future loans are also taken into consideration. | |
| Book value per share | Book value per share = Common shareholders’ equity/ Outstanding shares | Book value per share itself is used as a term to calculate other solvency ratios. This metric helps understand the number of tangible assets present in the company. | Depending on the sector, book value per share can vary a lot. For example, a tech company has a lot invested in its IP, on the other hand for manufacturing sectors, most of the assets are tangible. |
Book value per share itself is used as a term to calculate other solvency ratios. This metric helps understand the number of tangible assets present in the company.
Depending on the sector, book value per share can vary a lot. For example, a tech company has a lot invested in its IP; on the other hand, for manufacturing sectors, most of the assets are tangible.
Conclusion
Corporate finance ratios serve as essential tools for investors, analysts, and management to assess a company's financial health, performance, and stability.
These ratios provide valuable insights into various aspects of a company's operations, including liquidity, debt management, asset utilization, profitability, and return to investors.
By analyzing corporate finance ratios, stakeholders can make informed investment decisions, benchmark a company's performance against industry peers, and identify areas for improvement.
Note
Since a single ratio doesn’t give complete information, multiple ratios need to be compared to make an investment decision. Some of the most used ratios are P/E earnings, ROE, Face Value, Operating profit per share, Dividend yield, and book value.
Whether evaluating short-term solvency with liquidity ratios, assessing operational efficiency with activity ratios, or gauging profitability with profitability ratios, each category of ratios offers unique perspectives on a company's financial condition.
Overall, corporate finance ratios play a crucial role in financial analysis and decision-making processes, empowering stakeholders to navigate complex financial environments, mitigate risks, and maximize returns on investments.
By leveraging the insights gained from these ratios, businesses can strengthen their financial position, drive sustainable growth, and create long-term value for shareholders and stakeholders alike.
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