Living in a Cashless Society
Our monetary system has undergone a sea of change in the past century. If our great grandfathers were to see our lives today, they would not be able to relate to any form of payment. Fiat currency, plastic money, negotiable instruments are all creations of the financial innovation that has taken the world by storm […]
The Financial System and Basel Accords
In the previous articles, we have already read about how banks are the main pillars of the financial system. It is obvious that since banks are so important to the economy as a whole, the government must create a system to protect these banks from collapsing in case a negative economic event occurs. Governments all […]
The TikTok Business Model
When we talk about social media, we often refer to companies like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. However, in the past few years, another company has emerged as a huge player in the social media space. This company has created an application that is known for having high levels of user engagement. The application being […]
Impact of Liquidity on Pension Funds
Liquidity management has become an important buzzword in the pension fund industry. This is because of the fact that recessions, slowdowns, and the recent market crash caused by Covid-19 have left the pension funds exposed. Many studies have been conducted into the matter and the results from these studies are simply astonishing. Pensions funds are […]
The Consequences of Negative Interest Rates
Warren Buffet once told that interest rates are like gravity. If there is no gravitational pull on asset values, then values can be infinite. Little did Warren Buffet know that the world is heading towards a strange phenomenon called negative interest rates. This strange new world is both confusing and counter-intuitive. The common man is […]
Cash Flow to Debt Ratio = Operating Cash Flow/Total Debt
The cash flow to debt ratio tells investors how much cash flow the company generated from its regular operating activities compared to the total debt it has. For instance if the ratio is 0.25, then the operating cash flow was one fourth of the total debt the company has on its books. This debt includes interest payments, principal payments and even lease payments to cover off balance sheet financing.
However, this may not be the case. Companies have access to a variety of financing schemes. Some of these schemes include interest only payments, bullet payments, balloon payments, negative amortization, so on and so forth. In such innovative amortization, there may be years when the company has to pay a lot of interest and other years when it has to pay none. Hence the present years figures may not be indicative of the future.
Earlier analysis used earnings because at that time credit periods were small or nonexistent and therefore earnings to some extent meant cash flow. However, with the proliferation of credit, the distinction has been widened.
A company may book earnings immediately and not receive cash for years on end. Thus creditors have their eyes set on cash flow ratios.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
