Discover Financial Services Current Ratio:

About Current Ratio

The current ratio measures a company's ability to pay short-term debts and other current liabilities (financial obligations lasting less than one year) by comparing current assets to current liabilities. The ratio illustrates a company's ability to remain solvent.

A current ratio of one means that book value of current assets is exactly the same as book value of current liabilities. In general, investors look for a company with a current ratio of 2:1, meaning current assets twice as large as current liabilities. A current ratio less than one indicates the company might have problems meeting short-term financial obligations. If the ratio is too high, the company may not be efficiently using its current assets or short term financing facilities.

Other similar solvency ratios include :
Cash Ratio - Measures the amount of cash that can be used to pay liabilities (most strict)
Quick Ratio - Measures the amount of cash, short term equivalents, and accounts receivables that can be used to pay liabilities (more lenient than cash ratio, but stricter than current ratio)
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