Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Current Ratio

The current ratio demonstrates a declining trend from 1.36 in the fiscal year ending September 26, 2020, down to 0.87 by September 28, 2024. A slight improvement is noted in the following year, increasing to 0.89 by September 27, 2025. This pattern indicates a general decrease in the company's short-term liquidity position over the five-year period, suggesting that current liabilities have grown relative to current assets, potentially signaling tighter liquidity management or increased short-term obligations.

Quick Ratio

The quick ratio also shows a consistently declining trajectory, starting at 1.22 in 2020 and falling steadily to 0.75 in 2024, with a minimal recovery to 0.77 in 2025. Given that the quick ratio excludes inventory, the decline suggests a reduction in highly liquid assets such as cash, marketable securities, and receivables relative to current liabilities. This decline may indicate increasing challenges in covering short-term liabilities without relying on inventory sales.

Cash Ratio

The cash ratio exhibits a marked decrease from 0.86 in 2020 to a low of 0.31 in 2022, followed by minor fluctuations, reaching 0.37 in 2024 and then declining again to 0.33 in 2025. This ratio, which focuses solely on cash and cash equivalents relative to current liabilities, points to a significant reduction in the company’s most liquid assets available to meet immediate obligations. The sustained lower levels highlight a potentially constrained cash position, which may necessitate careful cash flow management going forward.

Current Assets

Current assets show a relatively stable trend over the six-year period, starting at 143,713 million US dollars in 2020 and experiencing minor fluctuations. There was a slight decline in 2021 and 2022, followed by an increase in 2023 and 2024, reaching a peak of 152,987 million US dollars before a modest decrease in 2025 to 147,957 million US dollars.

Current Liabilities

Current liabilities exhibit a consistent upward trend, increasing substantially from 105,392 million US dollars in 2020 to 165,631 million US dollars in 2025. Notably, liabilities rose sharply between 2021 and 2022, and despite some fluctuations in later years, the overall trajectory remains significantly upward.

Current Ratio

The current ratio demonstrates a steady decline over the period under review. Starting above 1.3 in 2020, it dropped below 1.0 in 2022, indicating a potential decline in short-term liquidity. Although there was a slight recovery to 0.99 in 2023, the ratio again fell below 1.0 in 2024 and 2025, suggesting that current liabilities increasingly outweigh current assets.

Overall Analysis

While current assets remained relatively stable, the marked increase in current liabilities has exerted downward pressure on the current ratio. The current ratio's decline below the 1.0 threshold in multiple years suggests increasing liquidity risk, where short-term obligations may not be adequately covered by short-term assets. This trend merits attention as it could impact the company's ability to meet its short-term financial commitments efficiently.

Total Quick Assets

The total quick assets showed a general decline from 128,388 million USD in 2020 to a low of 109,236 million USD in 2022. Subsequently, an upward trend is observed, with quick assets increasing to 131,414 million USD by 2024, followed by a slight decrease to 127,654 million USD in 2025. This suggests some recovery in liquid assets after a drop in the earlier years, though the recent value remains somewhat below the initial 2020 figure.

Current Liabilities

Current liabilities exhibited a marked and consistent increase over the period. Starting at 105,392 million USD in 2020, they rose steadily each year to reach a peak of 176,392 million USD in 2024, followed by a marginal decline to 165,631 million USD in 2025. The increase in liabilities outpaced changes in quick assets, indicating growing short-term obligations.

Quick Ratio

The quick ratio, a measure of liquidity, declined sharply from 1.22 in 2020 to a low of 0.71 in 2022, reflecting a reduction in the ability to cover short-term liabilities with liquid assets. Some improvement ensued with the ratio rising to 0.84 in 2023, but this was followed by a slight decrease, stabilizing at around 0.75 to 0.77 in 2024 and 2025. Overall, the quick ratio remains below 1.0 in recent years, indicating potential liquidity concerns despite fluctuations.

Overall Analysis

The data reveals that while liquid assets showed some resilience and partial recovery after an initial decline, current liabilities have increased substantially, thereby exerting downward pressure on the quick ratio. The persistent decrease of the quick ratio below 1.0 over multiple years suggests that the company may face challenges in meeting its short-term obligations solely through its most liquid assets. This trend warrants monitoring to ensure that liquidity remains sufficient in the context of the growing liabilities.

The financial data reveals several notable trends across the reviewed periods. There is a clear fluctuation in total cash assets, current liabilities, and the cash ratio, which provides insight into the liquidity position over time.

Total Cash Assets

Total cash assets show an initial decline from nearly $90.9 billion in 2020 to $48.3 billion in 2022. Following this low point, the cash assets partially recover, rising to approximately $65.2 billion in 2024 before decreasing again to about $54.7 billion in 2025. This indicates a volatile cash position with a notable decrease overall from the starting point.

Current Liabilities

Current liabilities exhibit a consistent upward trend from $105.4 billion in 2020 to a peak of $176.4 billion in 2024, followed by a slight decline to $165.6 billion in 2025. The steady increase in short-term obligations suggests growing operational or financing needs.

Cash Ratio

The cash ratio, which measures the ability to cover current liabilities with cash and cash equivalents, declines significantly from 0.86 in 2020 to a low of 0.31 in 2022. Although there is a modest recovery to 0.42 in 2023, the ratio decreases again to 0.33 by 2025. This trend indicates a reduced liquidity buffer relative to current liabilities over the analyzed timeframe.

Overall, the data points to a tightening liquidity position with rising current liabilities not being matched proportionally by cash asset increases. While some temporary improvements in cash holdings are evident, the general trend is toward lower cash ratios, reflecting increased financial risk in meeting short-term obligations solely with cash resources.