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What Is Liquidity

Liquidity refers to the ease of converting an asset into cash without affecting its market price, with cash being the most liquid asset. It can be classified into market liquidity and accounting liquidity, with various ratios such as current, quick, and cash ratios used to measure it. Understanding liquidity is crucial for individuals and companies to manage short-term obligations and avoid potential financial crises.

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29 views5 pages

What Is Liquidity

Liquidity refers to the ease of converting an asset into cash without affecting its market price, with cash being the most liquid asset. It can be classified into market liquidity and accounting liquidity, with various ratios such as current, quick, and cash ratios used to measure it. Understanding liquidity is crucial for individuals and companies to manage short-term obligations and avoid potential financial crises.

Uploaded by

Jabir Mire
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Understanding Liquidity and How to Measure It

What Is Liquidity?
Liquidity refers to the efficiency or ease with which an asset or security can be converted into
ready cash without affecting its market price. The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.
Consequently, the availability of cash to make such conversions is the biggest influence on
whether a market can move efficiently.

The more liquid an asset is, the easier and more efficient it is to turn it back into cash. Less
liquid assets take more time and may have a higher cost.
Key Takeaways
• Liquidity refers to the ease with which an asset, or security, can be converted into ready
cash without affecting its market price.
• Cash is the most liquid of assets, while tangible items are less liquid.
• The two main types of liquidity are market liquidity and accounting liquidity.
• Current, quick, and cash ratios are most commonly used to measure liquidity.

Tara Anand / Investopedia


Understanding Liquidity
In other words, liquidity describes the degree to which an asset can be quickly bought or sold in
the market at a price reflecting its intrinsic value. Cash is universally considered the most liquid
asset because it can most quickly and easily be converted into other assets. Tangible assets,
such as real estate, fine art, and collectibles, are all relatively illiquid. Other financial assets,
ranging from equities to partnership units, fall at various places on the liquidity spectrum.1

For example, if a person wants a $1,000 refrigerator, cash is the asset that can most easily be
used to obtain it. If that person has no cash but a rare book collection that has been appraised
at $1,000, they are unlikely to find someone willing to trade the refrigerator for their collection.
Instead, they will have to sell the collection and use the cash to purchase the refrigerator.

That may be fine if the person can wait for months or years to make the purchase, but it could
present a problem if the person has only a few days. They may have to sell the books at a
discount, instead of waiting for a buyer who is willing to pay the full value. Rare books are an
example of an illiquid asset.

There are two main measures of liquidity: market liquidity and accounting liquidity.
Market Liquidity
Market liquidity refers to the extent to which a market, such as a country’s stock market or a
city’s real estate market, allows assets to be bought and sold at stable, transparent prices. In
the example above, the market for refrigerators in exchange for rare books is so illiquid that it
does not exist.2
The stock market, on the other hand, is characterized by higher market liquidity. If an exchange
has a high volume of trade that is not dominated by selling, the price that a buyer offers per
share (the bid price) and the price that the seller is willing to accept (the ask price) will be fairly
close to each other.
Investors, then, will not have to give up unrealized gains for a quick sale. When the spread
between the bid and ask prices tightens, the market is more liquid; when it grows, the market
instead becomes more illiquid. Markets for real estate are usually far less liquid than stock
markets. The liquidity of markets for other assets, such as derivatives, contracts, currencies, or
commodities, often depends on their size and how many open exchanges exist for them to be
traded on.

Accounting Liquidity
Accounting liquidity measures the ease with which an individual or company can meet their
financial obligations with the liquid assets available to them—the ability to pay off debts as they
come due.
In the example above, the rare book collector’s assets are relatively illiquid and would probably
not be worth their full value of $1,000 in a pinch. In investment terms, assessing accounting
liquidity means comparing liquid assets to current liabilities, or financial obligations that come
due within one year.
There are several ratios that measure accounting liquidity, which differ in how strictly they
define liquid assets. Analysts and investors use these to identify companies with strong
liquidity. It is also considered a measure of depth.

Measuring Liquidity
Financial analysts look at a firm’s ability to use liquid assets to cover its short-term obligations.
Generally, when using these formulas, a ratio greater than one is desirable.
Current Ratio
The current ratio is the simplest and least strict. It measures current assets (those that can
reasonably be converted to cash in one year) against current liabilities. Its formula would be:
Current Ratio = Current Assets ÷ Current Liabilities
Quick Ratio (Acid-Test Ratio)
The quick ratio, or acid-test ratio, is slightly more strict. It excludes inventories and other
current assets, which are not as liquid as cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, and
short-term investments. The formula is:
Quick Ratio = (Cash and Cash Equivalents + Short-Term Investments + Accounts Receivable) ÷
Current Liabilities

Acid-Test Ratio (Variation)


A variation of the quick/acid-test ratio simply subtracts inventory from current assets, making it
a bit more generous:
Acid-Test Ratio (Variation) = (Current Assets - Inventories - Prepaid Costs) ÷ Current Liabilities

Cash Ratio
The cash ratio is the most exacting of the liquidity ratios. Excluding accounts receivable, as well
as inventories and other current assets, it defines liquid assets strictly as cash or cash
equivalents.

More than the current ratio or acid-test ratio, the cash ratio assesses an entity’s ability to stay
solvent in case of an emergency—the worst-case scenario—on the grounds that even highly
profitable companies can run into trouble if they do not have the liquidity to react to
unforeseen events. Its formula is:3

Cash Ratio = Cash and Cash Equivalents ÷ Current Liabilities


Liquidity Example
In terms of investments, equities as a class are among the most liquid assets. But not all
equities are created equal when it comes to liquidity. Some shares trade more actively than
others on stock exchanges, meaning that there is more of a market for them. In other words,
they attract greater, more consistent interest from traders and investors.
In addition to trading volume, other factors such as the width of bid-ask spreads, market depth,
and order book data can provide further insight into the liquidity of a stock. So, while volume is
an important factor to consider when evaluating liquidity, it should not be relied upon
exclusively.
These liquid stocks are usually identifiable by their daily volume, which can be in the millions or
even hundreds of millions of shares. When a stock has high volume, it means that there are a
large number of buyers and sellers in the market, which makes it easier for investors to buy or
sell the stock without significantly affecting its price. On the other hand, low-volume stocks may
be harder to buy or sell, as there may be fewer market participants and therefore less liquidity.
For example, on March 13, 2023, 69.6 million shares of Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) traded on
exchanges. By comparison, Intel Corp. (INTC) saw a volume of just 48.1 million shares,
indicating it was somewhat less liquid. But Ford Motor Co. (F) had a volume of 118.5 million
shares, making it the most active, and presumably most liquid, among these three stocks on
that day.4
Why Is Liquidity Important?
If markets are not liquid, it becomes difficult to sell or convert assets or securities into cash. You
may, for instance, own a very rare and valuable family heirloom appraised at $150,000.
However, if there is not a market (i.e., no buyers) for your object, then it is irrelevant since
nobody will pay anywhere close to its appraised value—it is very illiquid. It may even require
hiring an auction house to act as a broker and track down potentially interested parties, which
will take time and incur costs.
Liquid assets, however, can be easily and quickly sold for their full value and with little cost.
Companies also must hold enough liquid assets to cover their short-term obligations like bills or
payroll; otherwise, they could face a liquidity crisis, which could lead to bankruptcy.

What Are the Most Liquid Assets or Securities?


Cash is the most liquid asset, followed by cash equivalents, which are things like money market
accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), or time deposits. Marketable securities, such as stocks
and bonds listed on exchanges, are often very liquid and can be sold quickly via a broker. Gold
coins and certain collectibles may also be readily sold for cash.
What Are Some Illiquid Assets or Securities?
Securities that are traded over the counter (OTC), such as certain complex derivatives, are often
quite illiquid. For individuals, a home, a time-share, or a car are all somewhat illiquid in that it
may take several weeks to months to find a buyer, and several more weeks to finalize the
transaction and receive payment. Moreover, broker fees tend to be quite large (e.g., 5% to 7%
on average for a real estate agent).
Why Are Some Stocks More Liquid Than Others?
The most liquid stocks tend to be those with a great deal of interest from various market actors
and a lot of daily transaction volume. Such stocks will also attract a larger number of market
makers who maintain a tighter two-sided market.
Illiquid stocks have wider bid-ask spreads and less market depth. These names tend to be lesser
known, have lower trading volume, and often have lower market value and volatility. Thus, the
stock for a large multinational bank will tend to be more liquid than that of a small regional
bank.
The Bottom Line
Liquidity is the ease of converting an asset or security into cash, with cash itself being the most
liquid asset of all. Other liquid assets include stocks, bonds, and other exchange-traded
securities. Tangible items tend to be less liquid, meaning that it can take more time, effort, and
cost to sell them (e.g., a home).
Market liquidity and accounting liquidity are two main classifications of liquidity, and financial
analysts use various ratios, such as the current ratio, quick ratio, acid-test ratio, and cash ratio,
to measure it. Having liquidity is important for individuals and firms to pay off their short-term
debts and obligations and avoid a liquidity crisis.

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