Current ratio on B3 stocks: can the company pay its short-term bills?

The current ratio (liquidez corrente) is the short-term breathing test: with everything the company can turn into cash within a year, can it settle everything it owes within a year? A simple ratio that separates those with room to maneuver from those relying on rolling over debt.

The math

Current ratio = current assets ÷ current liabilities

Current assets is everything that becomes cash within a year — cash, investments, receivables, inventory. Current liabilities is everything due in the same window — suppliers, wages, taxes, the short-term slice of debt. The ratio says how many units of short-term assets exist for each unit of short-term obligation.

What it tells you

Above 1.0x, short-term assets cover short-term obligations — there is room to get through the year without selling fixed assets or scrambling for a loan. Below 1.0x, the company depends on generating new cash (or rolling over debt) to honor what's due. It isn't a verdict — it's a signal to look closely at how it closes that gap.

Real B3 examples (2025)

Ticker	Company	Current ratio	Reading
DIRR3	Direcional	3.8x	homebuilder — inventory and land swell current assets
SUZB3	Suzano	3.2x	large cash and receivables cushion
GRND3	Grendene	2.0x	comfortable room, almost debt-free
RADL3	Raia Drogasil	1.5x	retail with inventory turning over
ABEV3	Ambev	1.0x	below 1.0x — and healthy (see below)

The current ratio alone doesn't rank "best to worst". DIRR3 sits at 3.8x because a homebuilder carries property inventory and land for years; ABEV3 sits near 1.0x and does just fine. Sector context is everything.

The nuance — high isn't always good, low isn't always bad

High can be stuck inventory. A ratio of 3x or 4x can be health — or capital trapped in inventory that won't sell and receivables that won't come in. In that case the high number hides working-capital inefficiency, not safety.
Low can be healthy in fast-cash businesses. Retail and beverages sell for cash (or on cards that settle quickly) and pay suppliers on terms. Ambev runs at a current ratio near 1.0x precisely because it collects before it pays — working capital works in its favor. A heavy industrial with the same 1.0x would already be a warning.

We don't publish a current ratio for banks. A bank's balance sheet doesn't split assets and liabilities into "current" and "non-current" — the accounting structure is different. Without that split the ratio doesn't exist, so Dados B3 simply doesn't report the indicator for financial institutions rather than inventing a number. (More at /guias/analisar-banco.)

How Dados B3 helps

The current ratio comes with its source current assets and current liabilities, from the standardized CVM account — and is left blank where it makes no sense (banks) rather than forcing a value. See the math at /metodologia/liquidez.

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