Columbia Sportswear Company (COLM)

Cash ratio

		Dec 31, 2024	Dec 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020
Cash and cash equivalents	US$ in thousands	531,869	350,319	430,241	763,404	790,725
Short-term investments	US$ in thousands	283,608	414,185	722	131,145	1,224
Total current liabilities	US$ in thousands	766,545	596,627	738,718	680,390	552,622
Cash ratio		1.06	1.28	0.58	1.31	1.43

December 31, 2024 calculation

Cash ratio = (Cash and cash equivalents + Short-term investments) ÷ Total current liabilities
= ($531,869K + $283,608K) ÷ $766,545K
= 1.06

The cash ratio of Columbia Sportswear Company has displayed varying trends over the past five years.

As of December 31, 2020, the cash ratio was 1.43, indicating that the company had $1.43 of cash and cash equivalents for every dollar of current liabilities. This suggests that Columbia had a healthy level of liquidity to meet its short-term obligations at that time.

However, by December 31, 2022, the cash ratio had decreased significantly to 0.58, signaling a potential liquidity strain. This may raise concerns about the company's ability to cover its short-term liabilities solely with its cash holdings.

On a positive note, the cash ratio improved to 1.28 by December 31, 2023, and further to 1.06 by December 31, 2024. These increases indicate that Columbia Sportswear Company managed to strengthen its liquidity position in those years, which could be attributed to better cash management or an increase in cash holdings.

Overall, while the company experienced fluctuations in its cash ratio over the period analyzed, the recent improvements suggest that Columbia is better positioned to meet its short-term financial obligations using its available cash resources.