Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO)

Current Ratio

The current ratio exhibited an overall improving trend from March 2020 through October 2021, rising from 0.87 to a peak of 1.52. This upward movement suggests enhanced short-term liquidity and a greater ability to cover current liabilities with current assets during this period. However, starting in December 2021, the ratio declined and stabilized around the 1.1 level, with minor fluctuations until mid-2025. The dip towards values close to 1.0 in early 2024 indicates a tightening liquidity position, though the ratio remains above 1.0, reflecting that current assets continue to exceed current liabilities, albeit with less cushion compared to the prior peaks.

Quick Ratio

The quick ratio showed a positive momentum similar to the current ratio from March 2020 to October 2021, increasing steadily from 0.68 to 1.17, indicating improved immediate liquidity excluding inventories. This increase suggests better capacity to meet short-term obligations without relying on inventory sales. Following this period, a decline occurred, with values dropping below 0.85 from December 2021 onwards and remaining mostly under 0.8 through mid-2025. This downward trend points to a reduction in liquid assets relative to current liabilities, revealing a potential tightening of liquidity when excluding inventory.

Cash Ratio

The cash ratio reached its highest point in October 2021 at 0.93, which signifies an improved position in terms of cash and cash equivalents alone to cover current liabilities. Before this peak, there was a steady increase from 0.55 in March 2020 to 0.93. Post peak, the ratio declined substantially, stabilizing around the 0.6 level with a slight downward tendency through 2024 and early 2025. This pattern indicates a reduction in available cash resources relative to current liabilities, which may imply a lower liquidity buffer solely in cash terms.

Current Assets

The current assets show an initial increase from 28,234 million USD in March 2020, peaking at 30,410 million USD in September 2020. This was followed by a sharp decline to 19,240 million USD in December 2020. From there, current assets generally trended upwards with some fluctuations, reaching 27,867 million USD in September 2023. A subsequent decline occurred, dropping to 25,997 million USD by March 2025, with minor recovery thereafter.

Current Liabilities

Current liabilities display a significant decrease from 32,397 million USD in March 2020 to 14,601 million USD in December 2020. After this trough, liabilities increased steadily, peaking at 29,263 million USD in June 2024. Beyond this point, a downward trend is observed, with liabilities falling to 21,944 million USD by June 2025.

Current Ratio

The current ratio improved markedly from 0.87 in March 2020 to a high of 1.52 in October 2021. Thereafter, it declined gradually and fluctuated around a range of 1.03 to 1.15 through late 2023 and 2024. A slight improvement is noted toward the end of the period, with the ratio reaching 1.21 in June 2025. Throughout the timeline, the current ratio mostly remained above 1.0 following mid-2020, indicating a generally stable ability to cover short-term liabilities with current assets.

Total Quick Assets

The total quick assets fluctuated over the periods analyzed, starting at 22,096 million USD in March 2020 and peaking at 23,665 million USD in June 2020. Following this, there was a general decline reaching a low of 14,058 million USD in December 2020. From that point, values oscillated, showing increases and decreases but never returning to initial peak levels until a gradual upward trend began in early 2023. The highest values toward the end of the period were recorded in June 2024 at 23,538 million USD, before declining again in the subsequent quarters.

Current Liabilities

Current liabilities displayed a notable reduction from March 2020 (32,397 million USD) to December 2020 (14,601 million USD), paralleling the pattern observed with quick assets. However, after this decline, current liabilities generally increased, reaching a high of 29,263 million USD in June 2024. The period shows significant volatility, especially between 2021 and 2025, with liabilities frequently exceeding initial levels from 2020. The overall trajectory suggests increasing short-term obligations in the latter part of the timeline.

Quick Ratio

The quick ratio began below 1.0 at 0.68 in March 2020, improved steadily to a peak of 1.17 in October 2021, indicating a stronger liquidity position relative to current liabilities. However, from late 2021 onward, the ratio consistently fell below 1.0, fluctuating between approximately 0.72 and 0.84 through 2025. This decline suggests a weakening in the company’s ability to cover short-term liabilities with quick assets in most of the periods following October 2021, signaling potential liquidity concerns.

Overall Insights

The company experienced an initial drop in both quick assets and current liabilities during 2020, perhaps reflecting a strategic management of short-term finances amidst uncertain conditions. Subsequently, current liabilities grew more rapidly than quick assets, leading to a decline in the quick ratio and implying deteriorating liquidity. Despite fluctuations, quick assets saw some recovery by mid-2024 but failed to keep pace with the rise in liabilities. The quick ratio’s consistent readings below 1.0 in recent periods highlight a potential risk area in meeting immediate obligations without reliance on inventory or other less liquid assets.

The analysis of the quarterly financial data reveals several key trends relating to liquidity and short-term financial stability.

Total Cash Assets

Total cash assets demonstrated variability over the analyzed periods, initially rising from approximately $17.7 billion to a peak of $21.1 billion by September 2020, before experiencing a significant decline to around $10.9 billion at the end of 2020. Subsequently, the cash assets fluctuated moderately, reaching levels as high as $18.9 billion in June 2024, with a general oscillation observed rather than a clear upward or downward trend. The latest quarters indicate a slight reduction from the peak, settling around $14.3 billion by mid-2025.

Current Liabilities

Current liabilities showed a notable downward trend early in the period, decreasing from approximately $32.4 billion in March 2020 to about $14.6 billion by December 2020. After this point, liabilities generally increased, peaking near $29.3 billion in June 2024. The last recorded quarters display a decrease to roughly $21.9 billion by mid-2025. This pattern suggests fluctuating short-term obligations, with a significant increase after the initial decline, followed by some reduction more recently.

Cash Ratio

The cash ratio, an indicator of short-term liquidity, reflected the changes in cash assets and current liabilities, ranging between approximately 0.55 and 0.93. The ratio peaked at 0.93 in October 2021, indicating strong liquidity at that time. It generally remained above 0.55, with periodic increases and declines but showed a tendency to stabilize around 0.6 in the later periods. This suggests a steady ability to cover current liabilities with cash assets despite fluctuations.

Overall, the data depicts a company with dynamic liquidity management, maintaining sufficient cash levels relative to current liabilities over the period. The significant fluctuations likely align with operational and market factors influencing working capital requirements and cash management strategies. The cash ratio stability near or above 0.6 in recent quarters points to a consistent liquidity position supporting short-term financial obligations.