Excess Cash, an Invested Capital Adjustment

Firms use a portion of their cash and cash equivalents and investments as operating cash for the running of the business, and any cash beyond this amount is excess cash and a non-operating asset. As a rule of thumb, I assume that operating cash is equal to 5% of revenue, increasing or decreasing this requirement according to the firm’s operating profitability. Excess cash grants firms optionality, and protection against crisis, and, compounds as a consequence of a firm’s profitability. As a non-operating asset, excess cash is not part of my calculation of invested capital. In the last twelve months (2Q 2023 to 1Q 2024), Meta Platforms had $61.48 billion in excess cash, assuming that, given the company’s profitability, operating cash is 2% of revenue.

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