Waters Corporation (WAT)

Quick ratio

		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	Dec 31, 2019	Sep 30, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Mar 31, 2019
Cash	US$ in thousands	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	335,715	404,649	587,998	684,970
Short-term investments	US$ in thousands	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	1,429	351	87,775	482,293
Receivables	US$ in thousands	702,168	631,284	693,436	—	722,892	-13,235	-13,347	-13,143	612,648	-13,662	-14,798	-13,595	573,316	494,432	496,276	522,209	587,734	504,865	518,520	508,285
Total current liabilities	US$ in thousands	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	591,334	597,153	611,696	603,279
Quick ratio		1.39	1.30	1.27	0.61	1.53	0.59	0.54	0.71	1.74	0.95	0.95	1.01	1.26	1.23	1.22	1.66	1.56	1.52	1.95	2.78

December 31, 2023 calculation

Quick ratio = (Cash + Short-term investments + Receivables) ÷ Total current liabilities
= ($395,076K + $898K + $702,168K) ÷ $789,580K
= 1.39

The quick ratio for Waters Corp. has exhibited some fluctuations over the past eight quarters. The quick ratio measures a company's ability to meet its short-term obligations with its most liquid assets, excluding inventory.

In Q4 2023, the quick ratio was 1.57, indicating that Waters Corp. had $1.57 of liquid assets available to cover each dollar of current liabilities. This ratio decreased from the previous quarter but remained at a healthy level above 1, which generally suggests that the company has an adequate level of short-term liquidity.

Looking back at the trend, Waters Corp. experienced a slight decline in the quick ratio from Q1 2023 to Q3 2023, but the ratio remained consistently above 1.5 during this period. The highest quick ratio was observed in Q1 2022 at 1.75, indicating a peak level of liquidity during that quarter.

Overall, Waters Corp. has maintained a solid quick ratio above 1 over the past eight quarters, which is a positive sign for the company's ability to meet its short-term financial obligations using its liquid assets.