Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS)

Current Ratio

The current ratio shows a fluctuating trend over the analyzed periods. Starting at 0.9 in 2019, it improved significantly to 1.32 in 2020, indicating a stronger ability to cover short-term liabilities with current assets. However, it declined in subsequent years, falling to 1.08 in 2021, then further to exactly 1.0 in 2022, and maintaining a similar level of 1.05 in 2023. The ratio experienced a notable decrease to 0.73 in 2024, suggesting a reduction in current asset coverage relative to current liabilities by the end of the period.

Quick Ratio

The quick ratio also demonstrates a similar pattern but remains consistently lower than the current ratio, reflecting the exclusion of inventory from liquid assets. It increased from 0.67 in 2019 to a peak of 1.15 in 2020, followed by a gradual decrease to 0.94 in 2021 and further downward to 0.83 in 2022. Minor improvement was observed in 2023, rising to 0.85, before a sharp reduction to 0.54 in 2024. This decline suggests a lowered ability to quickly meet short-term obligations without relying on inventory sales.

Cash Ratio

The cash ratio exhibits a marked rise initially, from a low 0.17 in 2019 to a substantial 0.67 in 2020, indicating increased cash and cash equivalents relative to current liabilities. Afterwards, the ratio declined steadily year-over-year, dropping to 0.51 in 2021, 0.4 in 2022, and a slight increase to 0.46 in 2023. The final measurement in 2024 shows a return to the initial low of 0.17, signaling a diminished cash position and potentially increased liquidity risk.

Current Assets

The current assets demonstrated variability over the observed period. Initially, there was an increase from 28,124 million USD in 2019 to a peak of 35,251 million USD in 2020. Afterward, the value fluctuated, decreasing to 29,098 million USD in 2022 before moderately rising again to 32,763 million USD in 2023, and subsequently declining to 25,241 million USD by 2024, reflecting an overall downward trend in the most recent year.

Current Liabilities

Current liabilities showed a mixed trend with an initial decrease from 31,341 million USD in 2019 to 26,628 million USD in 2020. This was followed by increases in the subsequent years, rising to 31,077 million USD in 2021 and maintaining a generally high level exceeding 29,000 million USD through to 2024, culminating at 34,599 million USD, which represents the highest level in the reported period.

Current Ratio

The current ratio exhibited fluctuations over time, beginning at 0.9 in 2019 and improving to 1.32 in 2020, which suggested an improved short-term liquidity position. However, the ratio declined after this peak, falling to 1.08 in 2021 and reaching parity at 1.0 in 2022. It slightly increased to 1.05 in 2023 but then dropped sharply to 0.73 in 2024, indicating a weaker liquidity position by the end of the period.

The analysis of the financial data over the six-year period reveals significant fluctuations in liquidity indicators.

Total Quick Assets

The total quick assets experienced an initial increase from 20,899 million USD in 2019 to a peak of 30,622 million USD in 2020. After this peak, the figures declined progressively to 18,731 million USD by 2024, showing a substantial reduction in highly liquid assets over time.

Current Liabilities

Current liabilities decreased from 31,341 million USD in 2019 to 26,628 million USD in 2020, indicating an improvement in short-term obligations. However, from 2020 onwards, current liabilities increased steadily, reaching 34,599 million USD in 2024. This rising trend points to a growing short-term debt burden in the latter years.

Quick Ratio

The quick ratio, which measures the company’s ability to cover current liabilities with quick assets, increased sharply from 0.67 in 2019 to 1.15 in 2020. This improvement signaled enhanced liquidity early in the period. Subsequently, the ratio declined gradually to 0.54 in 2024, falling below the 2019 level and indicating a weakened capacity to meet short-term obligations without relying on inventory sales.

In summary, the data illustrates a peak in liquidity during 2020, followed by a steady erosion in the company's quick assets relative to its increasing current liabilities. This trend culminates in a substantially lower quick ratio, suggesting increased liquidity risk and a potential need for enhanced working capital management strategies in recent years.

Total Cash Assets

The total cash assets exhibited significant fluctuations over the periods under review. Starting from 5,418 million USD in 2019, there was a substantial increase to 17,914 million USD in 2020, followed by a slight decline to 15,959 million USD in 2021. The figure continued to decrease to 11,615 million USD in 2022 but then saw a moderate recovery to 14,182 million USD in 2023 before sharply dropping to 6,002 million USD in 2024. This pattern indicates a volatile cash position with peak liquidity in 2020 and generally declining cash reserves thereafter.

Current Liabilities

Current liabilities showed variability but an overall upward trend. The liabilities were 31,341 million USD in 2019, decreasing to 26,628 million USD in 2020. However, they rose again to 31,077 million USD in 2021 and fluctuated slightly to 29,073 million USD in 2022. The amount increased again to 31,139 million USD in 2023 and then reached the highest point of 34,599 million USD in 2024. The data suggests increasing short-term obligations, especially notable in the most recent year.

Cash Ratio

The cash ratio, which measures the ability to cover current liabilities with cash and cash equivalents, followed a similar trend to total cash assets but remained below 1 throughout the period. The ratio improved markedly from 0.17 in 2019 to 0.67 in 2020, reflecting heightened liquidity. It then gradually declined to 0.51 in 2021, 0.40 in 2022, and slightly improved to 0.46 in 2023. In 2024, it fell sharply back to 0.17, mirroring the steep decline in cash assets relative to current liabilities. This indicates a weakened short-term liquidity position by the end of the latest period.