Waters Corporation (WAT)

Quick ratio

		Dec 31, 2024	Sep 30, 2024	Jun 30, 2024	Mar 31, 2024	Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020	Jun 30, 2020	Mar 31, 2020
Cash	US$ in thousands	324,421	330,514	326,427	337,290	395,076	336,414	329,693	486,070	480,529	443,637	418,897	480,070	501,234	524,702	460,056	683,783	436,695	374,934	339,036	390,061
Short-term investments	US$ in thousands	934	944	934	923	898	898	885	885	862	876	897	23,025	68,051	130,490	203,566	125,986	6,451	22,136	16,720	3,810
Receivables	US$ in thousands	733,365	669,534	610,088	626,329	702,168	631,284	693,436	-14,855	722,892	-13,235	-13,347	-13,143	612,648	-13,662	-14,798	-13,595	573,316	494,432	496,276	522,209
Total current liabilities	US$ in thousands	789,758	816,040	762,532	848,459	789,580	745,029	809,387	801,950	785,737	731,970	746,563	687,829	680,508	671,889	681,018	785,049	804,983	722,188	697,320	551,051
Quick ratio		1.34	1.23	1.23	1.14	1.39	1.30	1.27	0.59	1.53	0.59	0.54	0.71	1.74	0.95	0.95	1.01	1.26	1.23	1.22	1.66

December 31, 2024 calculation

Quick ratio = (Cash + Short-term investments + Receivables) ÷ Total current liabilities
= ($324,421K + $934K + $733,365K) ÷ $789,758K
= 1.34

The quick ratio of Waters Corporation has fluctuated over the past few years, indicating variability in its short-term liquidity position. The quick ratio was relatively strong at the beginning of the period, standing at 1.66 on March 31, 2020, which suggests the company had $1.66 in liquid assets available to cover each dollar of its current liabilities.

However, there was a notable decrease in the quick ratio by June 30, 2021, where it dropped to 0.95, signaling a potential strain on the company's ability to meet its short-term obligations with its readily available assets. This downward trend persisted until March 31, 2022, where the quick ratio hit its lowest point at 0.71, indicating a potential liquidity challenge for Waters Corporation at that time.

Despite this decline, the company's quick ratio showed signs of improvement throughout the rest of 2022 and 2023, reaching 1.39 by December 31, 2023, and staying above 1.0 until December 31, 2024, which suggests that Waters Corporation had an adequate level of liquid assets to cover its current liabilities during that period.

Overall, the fluctuation in the quick ratio of Waters Corporation indicates varying levels of short-term liquidity risk and underscores the importance of closely monitoring the company's ability to meet its immediate financial obligations with its available liquid resources.