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Financial Ratios

Key financial ratios like ROA, ROE, and profitability metrics for measuring business performance

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8 min read

The Quick Ratio (Acid-Test Ratio): The Liquidity Number Lenders Trust More Than Your Current Ratio

The quick ratio (acid-test ratio) measures whether a business can cover current liabilities using only cash, marketable securities, and receivables — deliberately excluding inventory and prepaid expenses. Covers the formula with a worked example, why loan covenants often set a quick-ratio minimum instead of a current-ratio one, why 1.0 is the textbook benchmark but fast-turn retailers healthily run 0.3–0.4, and the mistakes that make the ratio misleading.

Mike Thrift

financial-ratiossmall-businessfinancial-health
8 min read

Asset Coverage Ratio: The Solvency Number Lenders Check Before You Ever See a Term Sheet

The asset coverage ratio measures whether tangible assets could repay total debt in a liquidation — [(total assets − intangibles) − (current liabilities − short-term debt)] ÷ total debt. Below 1.0 is a red flag, 2.0 is a common healthy benchmark, and lenders often write a minimum ACR into loan covenants that can trigger technical default.

Mike Thrift

financial-ratiosbusiness-loanssmall-business
9 min read

Return on Equity (ROE) Explained: What It Measures, What Counts as Good, and How to Break It Down

Return on Equity (ROE) divides net income by owner's equity — a 15% ROE means the business earned 15 cents per dollar of the owner's capital. This guide covers healthy benchmarks (12–15% baseline, 15–20%+ strong), the three-part DuPont breakdown of margin, asset turnover, and leverage, and the pitfalls — debt-inflated returns, negative equity, one-time items — that distort the ratio.

Mike Thrift

financial-ratiosprofitabilitysmall-business
7 min read

Operating Margin, Explained: Formula, Industry Benchmarks, and How to Improve It

Operating margin — operating income divided by revenue — shows whether a business's core operation makes money before interest and taxes. Here's the formula with a worked example, 2026 benchmarks by industry (SaaS 15–35%, services 15–25%, manufacturing 8–15%, retail under 5%), how it differs from gross and net margin, and the bookkeeping errors that distort it.

Mike Thrift

profit-marginsprofitabilityfinancial-ratios
8 min read

Inventory Turnover Ratio Explained: Formula, Industry Benchmarks, and How to Improve It

Inventory turnover ratio = COGS ÷ average inventory, and it shows how many times a business sells through its stock each year. This guide covers the formula, converting turnover to days sales of inventory, industry benchmarks from 2–4 turns (industrial parts) to 10–20+ (grocery), and why slow-moving stock costs 20–30% of its value annually to hold.

Mike Thrift

inventoryfinancial-ratioscost-of-goods-sold
8 min read

The Quick Ratio (Acid-Test Ratio): The One Number That Catches a Cash Crunch Before It Happens

The quick ratio (acid-test ratio) strips inventory and prepaid expenses from current assets to test whether cash, receivables, and marketable securities alone can cover current liabilities. Includes the formula, a worked example where a 2.5 current ratio hides a 1.0 quick ratio, industry benchmarks, and the aged-receivables blind spot.

Mike Thrift

financial-ratiosfinancial-healthcash-flow
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