Examples of Liquidity Ratios
The most basic liquidity ratio or metric is the calculation of working capital. Working capital is the difference between current assets and current liabilities. If a business has a positive working capital, this indicates it has more current assets than current liabilities and in the event of an emergency, the business can pay all of its short-term debts. A negative working capital indicates that a company is illiquid.
The current ratio divides total current assets by total current liabilities. This ratio provides the most basic analysis regarding the coverage level of current debts by current assets. The quick ratio expands on the current ratio by only including cash, marketable securities and accounts receivable in the numerator. The quick ratio reflects the potential difficulty in selling inventory or prepaid assets in the result of an emergency.