Ball Corporation (BALL)

The liquidity ratios of Ball Corp. have shown a fluctuating trend over the past five years. The current ratio, which measures the company's ability to cover its short-term liabilities with its current assets, has been decreasing from 1.05 in 2020 to 0.79 in 2023. This implies that the company may be facing challenges in meeting its short-term obligations with its current assets.

The quick ratio, also known as the acid-test ratio, provides a more conservative measure of liquidity by excluding inventory from current assets. Similarly to the current ratio, the quick ratio has also been decreasing over the years, from 0.75 in 2020 to 0.54 in 2023. This suggests that Ball Corp. may have limited ability to meet its short-term liabilities without relying on inventory.

The cash ratio, which is the most stringent measure of liquidity as it only considers cash and cash equivalents, has also experienced fluctuations. The ratio has decreased from 0.36 in 2020 to 0.16 in 2023, indicating that the company's ability to cover its short-term liabilities solely with cash has weakened over the years.

Overall, the declining trends in all three liquidity ratios suggest that Ball Corp. may be experiencing challenges in maintaining sufficient liquidity to meet its short-term obligations. It is important for the company to closely monitor its liquidity position and take necessary steps to improve it in order to ensure financial stability and operational continuity.

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Additional liquidity measure

The cash conversion cycle for Ball Corp. has shown fluctuating trends over the past five years. In 2023, there was a significant improvement in efficiency with a negative cash conversion cycle of -9.78 days, indicating that the company was able to convert its investments in inventory and accounts receivable into cash quickly.

In 2022, the cash conversion cycle improved further to -1.33 days, reflecting efficient management of working capital. However, the company experienced challenges in 2021 with a cash conversion cycle of -29.94 days, which was significantly lower than the previous year.

In 2020 and 2019, Ball Corp. also exhibited negative cash conversion cycles of -27.47 days and -21.96 days, respectively, indicating that the company was able to generate cash quickly from its operational activities.

Overall, while the company has shown fluctuations in its cash conversion cycle over the years, the negative values suggest efficient management of working capital and a shortened cash conversion cycle, reflecting the company's ability to effectively convert its investments into cash.