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What are Net Current Assets?
There are several ways to value a company and determine whether it is likely to be a sound investment. In accounting, there is a current asset formula that is a gauge of a company's financial condition. The term "net current assets" refers to the value of company's total current assets after all of its current liabilities have been subtracted. These are tangible assets that can include cash, inventory and accounts receivable, which is the money owed to a company. Also known as working capital, net current assets are a reflection of company's short-term health on a balance sheet, which is a financial statement filed with the regulatory body in a region.
If net current assets are enough to pay current liabilities, there is a positive working capital ratio. In the event that assets are insufficient to meet short-term debt obligations, creditors will not be paid, and there is negative working capital. If liabilities continue to outweigh assets over a prolonged period of time, it could lead to the company filing for bankruptcy. This scenario could signal that revenues or sales are declining while the accounts receivable component on a balance sheet decreases, which would be a warning sign to investors.
There are various types of current assets that constitute net current assets. They might include cash or other assets that can be liquidated or converted to cash in a relatively short period of time. Features might include assets that can be sold or consumed within a year without interfering with daily business operations. In addition to cash, current assets might include currency and deposit accounts, accounts receivable and short-term securities such as stocks that can be liquidated quickly. Additionally, inventory and pre-paid expenses, including insurance, are all types of current assets.
In addition to repaying short-term debt obligations, a company might use net current assets to fund short-term expansion initiatives or for unplanned expenses. Investments that are less liquid and cannot easily be converted into cash are considered long-term investments. These assets could include real estate, bonds and company equipment. Long-term assets are designed to be held by a company for more than one year.
Economist Benjamin Graham developed a trading strategy tied to purchasing stocks that were trading below the net current asset value. This is based on comparing a stock price to the amount of net current assets. Stocks that are trading significantly below this value could have the potential to be bargain investments.
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![Current assets might include stocks or other short-term securities.]()
By: Oleksiy MarkCurrent assets might include stocks or other short-term securities. -
![If net current assets are enough to pay current liabilities, there is a positive working capital ratio.]()
By: DragonImagesIf net current assets are enough to pay current liabilities, there is a positive working capital ratio.
Discussion Comments
When I worked in telecommunications, the company that I worked for was facing serious financial challenges.
It had extremely high long term debt and some of the notes were becoming payable in the near future. There simply wasn’t enough money available from cash flow to meet those obligations.
In looking over current assets and liabilities, the company realized that it had thousands of miles of dark fiber. This is unlit fiber – or fiber that hasn’t been used – and we realized that we didn’t need the fiber for our revised expansion plans.
We had purchased it when we had more ambitious goals of building a nationwide network, but in the aftermath of the Internet bubble, we decided to go regional instead.
So we sold off a bunch of our dark fiber to smaller telecommunications companies and other utilities that could use it, a move which enabled us to stay afloat a little while longer.
@snickerish - I like to know the net current assets of a company as well when I look at investing. I am just a beginner at investing, but I like that net current assets takes into account their assets as well as their liabilities, so that you don't become to entranced by a company that has a lot of assets!
Sometimes companies can look great when you just look at their assets, but in actuality they have more liabilities than they do assets!
You can find net current assets if you go to a general finance website and look up the stock. Then when you are on that stock's page, look for a header that says something like: "financials" or "financial information."
Companies that are also on the stock market have to keep their financial information public so you can find what's called there accounting balance sheet or annual report online as well. That contains lots of information, but is too complicated for me!
I've never thought of using this for choosing which companies to invest in as far as stock price in comparison to the current amount of net asset value.
Where can I find the net current assets data?
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