Financial ratios–What they are and how to use them (2024)

FAQs

Financial ratios–What they are and how to use them? ›

Ratios measure the relationship between two or more components of financial statements. They are used most effectively when results over several periods are compared. This allows you to follow your company's performance over time and uncover signs of trouble.

Ratio analysis compares line-item data from a company's financial statements to reveal insights regarding profitability, liquidity, operational efficiency, and solvency. Ratio analysis can mark how a company is performing over time, while comparing a company to another within the same industry or sector.

Learn how these five key ratios—price-to-earnings, PEG, price-to-sales, price-to-book, and debt-to-equity—can help investors understand a stock's true value. Figuring out a stock's value can be as simple or complex as you make it.

In general, financial ratios can be broken down into four main categories—1) profitability or return on investment; 2) liquidity; 3) leverage, and 4) operating or efficiency—with several specific ratio calculations prescribed within each.

Ratios measure the relationship between two or more components of financial statements. They are used most effectively when results over several periods are compared. This allows you to follow your company's performance over time and uncover signs of trouble.

A general rule of thumb is to have a current ratio of 2.0. Although this will vary by business and industry, a number above two may indicate a poor use of capital. A current ratio under two may indicate an inability to pay current financial obligations with a measure of safety.

Return on equity ratio

This is one of the most important financial ratios for calculating profit, looking at a company's net earnings minus dividends and dividing this figure by shareholders equity. The result tells you about a company's overall profitability, and can also be referred to as return on net worth.

Which is better pat or ebitda? ›

Overall, while both EBITA and PAT are important financial metrics, EBITA is often considered a more reliable indicator of a company's operational performance due to its focus on core business activities and its ability to provide a clearer, more comparable measure of profitability across industries and companies.

Key Takeaways. Return on equity (ROE) is the measure of a company's net income divided by its shareholders' equity. ROE is a gauge of a corporation's profitability and how efficiently it generates those profits. The higher the ROE, the better a company is at converting its equity financing into profits.

One of the most important things to be mindful of is that different sources calculate them differently. This can lead to confusion when comparing ratios from various sources, which can lead to incorrect conclusions. Another thing to keep in mind is that the time it takes to calculate financial ratios can be quite long.

Generally speaking, a good quick ratio is anything above 1 or 1:1. A ratio of 1:1 would mean the company has the same amount of liquid assets as current liabilities. A higher ratio indicates the company could pay off current liabilities several times over.

Users of financial ratios include parties external and internal to the company: External users: Financial analysts, retail investors, creditors, competitors, tax authorities, regulatory authorities, and industry observers. Internal users: Management team, employees, and owners.

Ratio analysis is a helpful tool for assessing a company's financial health and progress over time. It involves analyzing five categories of ratios, including liquidity, solvency, profitability, efficiency, and coverage. These ratios can give you valuable insights into the company's performance.

Similar to companies in other sectors, banks have specific ratios to measure profitability and efficiency that are designed to suit their unique business operations. Also, since financial strength is especially important for banks, there are also several ratios to measure solvency.