Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Current Ratio

The current ratio exhibits a general downward trend from 1.02 in the first quarter of 2021 to lower levels around 0.6-0.7 in the subsequent years. After an initial decline throughout 2021 to 0.75, the ratio remains relatively stable yet below 1.0, indicating a weakening ability to cover short-term liabilities with current assets. The ratio slightly fluctuates between quarters but stays mostly under 0.75, with a modest increase towards 0.74 by the first quarter of 2025, suggesting a minor improvement in liquidity at the end of the observed period.

Quick Ratio

The quick ratio also follows a downward trajectory, starting at 0.84 in early 2021 and falling to a range between 0.45 and 0.56 in later periods. This suggests a consistent reduction in highly liquid assets relative to current liabilities. The ratio hits a low around mid-2024 near 0.46, indicating limited immediate liquidity, but shows a slight improvement to 0.56 by the first quarter of 2025. Overall, the quick ratio reflects constrained liquidity, with insufficient short-term asset levels excluding inventories to fully cover current liabilities.

Cash Ratio

The cash ratio is consistently the lowest liquidity measure and shows significant volatility but remains generally depressed across the reporting periods. From 0.26 at the beginning of 2021, it drops sharply to as low as 0.04-0.06 in most quarters, revealing minimal cash and cash equivalents relative to current liabilities. Some quarters show modest recoveries (e.g., 0.13 in March 2025 and 0.09 in June 2023), but the ratio largely suggests limited immediate cash availability, emphasizing tight liquidity conditions.

Overall Liquidity Analysis

The combined movement of all three ratios points to a gradual deterioration in short-term liquidity over the analysis period. The company has consistently maintained current, quick, and cash ratios below the typical benchmark of 1.0, implying challenges in covering short-term obligations with liquid assets. Despite minor fluctuations and slight improvements near the end of the timeline, the overall pattern reflects constrained liquidity, potentially necessitating careful management of working capital and short-term financing strategies.

The analysis of the quarterly financial data indicates a series of trends relating to liquidity for the subject company over the reported periods.

Current Assets

Current assets exhibit some fluctuations over the quarters, starting at approximately $39.6 billion and showing both increases and falls over time. There is a general oscillation between the low $35 billion and mid $40 billion range, with the highest values observed in the last few quarters, reaching up to $44.0 billion by the end of the most recent period.

Current Liabilities

Current liabilities show an overall increasing trend throughout the periods under review. Beginning near $38.7 billion, liabilities gradually increase and peak near $64.8 billion around the middle of the last reported year. A slight moderation appears near the end, but the level remains substantially higher compared to the early quarters.

Current Ratio

The current ratio has steadily declined, reflecting the interplay between current assets and liabilities. Starting at a ratio slightly above 1 in the earliest quarter, it dropped below 1 in subsequent periods and remained below 1 throughout most of the timeline. The ratio reached a low close to 0.61, indicating tightening liquidity, before showing a minor rebound to approximately 0.74 by the final quarter.

Overall, the company appears to experience increasing current liabilities that outpace the growth in current assets, resulting in a diminishing current ratio. This pattern implies a potential reduction in short-term liquidity and possibly greater pressure on the company's ability to meet its short-term obligations promptly. The most recent improvements in the current ratio, although modest, may suggest initial stabilization or efforts to enhance liquidity.

Trend in Total Quick Assets

Total quick assets exhibited variability over the reported quarters, initially decreasing from 32,712 million USD at the end of Q1 2021 to a low near 25,090 million USD during Q1 2023. From that point, a recovery trend is noted, culminating in an increase to 33,626 million USD by Q3 2025, representing a resilient rebound and growth beyond previous levels.

Trend in Current Liabilities

Current liabilities demonstrated a general upward trajectory across the period, starting at 38,730 million USD in Q1 2021 and climbing to a peak of approximately 64,771 million USD by Q4 2024. Towards the end, a minor decline occurs, with liabilities settling near 59,563 million USD in Q3 2025. This steady rise in current liabilities suggests increased short-term obligations over time.

Analysis of the Quick Ratio

The quick ratio remained below 1.0 throughout the entire timeframe, indicating that quick assets consistently fell short of covering current liabilities on a stringent basis. The ratio decreased from 0.84 in Q1 2021 to a low of roughly 0.46 during late 2024 and mid-2025, reflecting increasing liquidity pressure. Although a slight improvement to 0.56 is recorded in Q3 2025, the quick ratio overall signals consistent challenges in meeting short-term liabilities with the most liquid assets.

Overall Observations

The analysis reveals a scenario where current liabilities have increased substantially over time, outpacing growth in quick assets for most of the period. Despite some recovery in quick assets towards the later quarters, the quick ratio indicates a weakened liquidity position, with the company maintaining less than sufficient immediate liquid assets relative to its current obligations. This suggests a need for ongoing focus on liquidity management and possibly evaluating strategies to improve quick asset levels or reduce short-term liabilities.

Total Cash Assets

The total cash assets display a generally fluctuating pattern over the observed periods. Initially, cash assets experience a significant decline from over 10 billion USD at the end of March 2021 to around 1.6 billion USD by March 2022. This is followed by a period of modest recovery with values stabilizing in the 2 to 2.6 billion USD range through 2022. In 2023, cash assets show another phase of volatility, with amounts oscillating between approximately 2.1 billion and 4.8 billion USD. Noticeably, from the first quarter of 2024 onwards, there is a discernible upward trend, culminating in a substantial increase to 7.7 billion USD by the third quarter of 2025. This suggests a strategic emphasis on strengthening cash reserves in the latter periods.

Current Liabilities

Current liabilities consistently rise during the first eight quarters, progressing from about 38.7 billion USD in March 2021 to a peak exceeding 64.7 billion USD in the third quarter of 2024. Following this peak, liabilities slightly decline but remain elevated, maintaining levels above 59 billion USD through the third quarter of 2025. This upward trajectory indicates an increase in short-term financial obligations over the analyzed timeframe, with a moderation towards the most recent quarters.

Cash Ratio

The cash ratio remains relatively low throughout the period, generally under 0.1, reflecting limited immediate liquidity in relation to current liabilities. Several troughs appear, notably in late 2021 and early 2022 when the ratio dips to around 0.04. Despite some improvement in mid-2023 reaching nearly 0.09, the ratio again declines in subsequent quarters. A distinct positive shift occurs from early 2024 onwards, with the cash ratio rising to 0.13 by the third quarter of 2025. This improvement aligns with the increase in cash assets and may suggest enhanced liquidity management or an improved capacity to meet short-term obligations.