CAT
¿Está Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) financieramente sana?
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT)'s balance sheet currently shows net-debt-to-EBITDA of 2.55x, debt-to-equity of 2.31x, and a current ratio of 1.35. Financial health on the Buffett-Fit framework asks whether a bad year would force the business to issue equity, sell assets at the wrong time, or cut the dividend. The full breakdown is below. Educational only, not investment advice.
Debt position. Caterpillar Inc. carries net-debt-to-EBITDA of 2.55x and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31x. Buffett's rough rule for non-financial businesses: net-debt-to-EBITDA below 2x in most sectors, with utilities and REITs allowed more room because their cash flows are more predictable. Above 3-4x is where forced deleveraging in a downturn becomes a real risk.
Liquidity. Current ratio (current assets / current liabilities) sits at 1.35. Below 1.0 means the business doesn't have enough short-term assets to cover short-term obligations - Graham's defensive cut-off is 2.0, but most healthy modern businesses run 1.2-1.8 because working-capital efficiency has improved over the decades. The key is the direction over time, not the absolute number.
Cash-flow quality. Interest coverage runs at 8.3x, and the FCF-to-net-income ratio is 1.16x. The first tells you whether earnings comfortably cover debt service; the second tells you whether accounting earnings are showing up as cash. Both above 1.5x is the comfortable zone - below 1.0x is where Buffett would walk away regardless of how cheap the stock looks.
How invest-like measures this
La salud financiera en invest-like.com mide si un balance es lo suficientemente robusto como para que un mal año no obligue al negocio a emitir acciones, vender activos en el mal momento o recortar el dividendo. Tres anclas cuantitativas: deuda neta/EBITDA por debajo de la mediana sectorial (menos de 2x en la mayoría de casos), margen de free cash-flow por encima del 10% con ruido limitado del capital circulante, y cobertura de intereses que aguanta incluso a tasas pico.
Los balances conservadores son el factor aislado más determinante de qué negocios sobreviven los ciclos «esto también pasará» de Buffett. La nota del pilar pondera los tres más la ratio FCF/beneficio neto (los beneficios contables que no aparecen como caja son una señal de alarma).
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