Definition
In the calculation of a company�s net cash, assets other than cash and short term investments are considered to be worth nothing. But the company has to pay its debt and other liabilities in full. This is an extremely conservative way of valuation. Most companies have negative net cash. But sometimes a company�s price may be lower than its net-cash.
Net Cash = Cash and cash equivalents - Total Liabilities
Formula
Net Cash =
Cash and cash equivalents -
Total LiabilitiesAirgas Inc netcash_per_share Calculation
* All numbers are in millions except for per share dataAirgas Inc Annual Data
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Airgas Inc Quarterly Data
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Explanation
Ben Graham invested in situations where the company�s stock price was lower than its net-cash. He assigned some value to the company�s other current asset. The value is called Net Current Asset Value (NCAV). One research study, covering the years 1970 through 1983 showed that portfolios picked at the beginning of each year, and held for one year, returned 29.4 percent, on average, over the 13-year period, compared to 11.5 percent for the S&P 500 Index. Other studies of Graham�s strategy produced similar results.
You can find companies that are traded below their Net Current Asset Value (NCAV) with our
Net-Net screener. GuruFocus also publishes a monthly
Net-Net newsletter.
Related Terms
Cash and cash equivalents,
Total Liabilities,
Net Current Asset Value* All numbers are in millions except for per share dataAirgas Inc Annual Data
| Mar04 | Mar05 | Mar06 | Mar07 | Mar08 | Mar09 | Mar10 | Mar11 | Mar12 | Dec12 |
|---|
| netcash_per_share |
|---|
Airgas Inc Quarterly Data
| Dec10 | Mar11 | Jun11 | Sep11 | Dec11 | Mar12 | Jun12 | Sep12 | Dec12 | Mar13 |
|---|
| netcash_per_share |
|---|
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