What is Financial Ratio Analysis? (2024)

FAQs

What do you mean by financial ratio analysis? ›

Financial ratio analysis is the technique of comparing the relationship (or ratio) between two or more items of financial data from a company's financial statements. It is mainly used as a way of making fair comparisons across time and between different companies or industries.

5 Essential Financial Ratios for Every Business. The common financial ratios every business should track are 1) liquidity ratios 2) leverage ratios 3)efficiency ratio 4) profitability ratios and 5) market value ratios.

Ratio analysis is vital for assessing a company's financial position, liquidity, profitability, risk, solvency, efficiency, and fund utilization. Ratio analysis provides a comparison of financial results and trends, aiding decision-making for company shareholders' investments.

Ratio analysis is a quantitative procedure of obtaining a look into a firm's functional efficiency, liquidity, revenues, and profitability by analysing its financial records and statements. Ratio analysis is a very important factor that will help in doing an analysis of the fundamentals of equity.

One example of a financial analysis would be if a financial analyst calculated your company's profitability ratios, which assess your company's ability to make money, and leverage ratios, which measure your company's ability to pay off its debts.

Return on equity ratio

This is one of the most important financial ratios for calculating profit, looking at a company's net earnings minus dividends and dividing this figure by shareholders equity. The result tells you about a company's overall profitability, and can also be referred to as return on net worth.

The current ratio measures a company's capacity to pay its short-term liabilities due in one year. The current ratio weighs a company's current assets against its current liabilities. A good current ratio is typically considered to be anywhere between 1.5 and 3.

A ratio of 1 or greater is considered acceptable for most businesses. Indicates a company's ability to pay immediate creditor demands, using its most liquid assets.

What can you learn from ratio analysis? ›

Ratio analysis is primarily used to compare a company's financial figures over a period of time, a method sometimes called trend analysis. Through trend analysis, you can identify trends, good and bad, and adjust your business practices accordingly.

To improve your financial ratios related to liquidity, you should take a number of steps: Analyze your short term liabilities to make sure that the debt you're incurring is justified. If you don't need to incur an expense, don't. Monitor your inventory level and assess whether or not it's being managed effectively.

In general, there are four categories of ratio analysis: profitability, liquidity, solvency, and valuation. Common ratios include the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, net profit margin, and debt-to-equity (D/E).

Keeping track of financial ratios is an essential way for you to examine your company's financial health. Ratios reveal basic information about your company, such as whether you have accumulated too much debt, stockpiled too much inventory or are not collecting receivables quickly enough.