TJX Cos. Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Current Ratio

The current ratio exhibits a downward trend beginning at 2.2 in early May 2020, declining sharply to around 1.41 by October 2020. From this point onward, the ratio stabilizes somewhat, fluctuating narrowly between approximately 1.09 and 1.23 through November 2024. This indicates a gradual reduction in the company’s short-term liquidity relative to its current liabilities over the analyzed periods, though the liquidity remains above 1, suggesting the company generally maintains sufficient current assets to cover its current liabilities.

Quick Ratio

The quick ratio follows a decreasing pattern starting at 0.96 in May 2020. There is a noticeable decline through 2021, dropping below 0.7 by the third quarter of 2021 and hitting its lowest point of 0.35 in October 2022. After this low, there is a partial recovery where the ratio rises to about 0.59 in early 2023, but subsequently decreases again, hovering in the range of 0.38 to 0.55 during 2024 and into 2025. This reflects a reduction in the company’s most liquid assets (excluding inventories) relative to current liabilities, which may suggest increased reliance on inventory or a tightening in liquidity management.

Cash Ratio

The cash ratio also shows a declining trend that broadly parallels that of the quick ratio. Beginning at 0.92 in May 2020, it decreases steadily to a low of 0.3 by October 2022. Similar to the quick ratio, the cash ratio experiences a recovery reaching 0.54 by early 2023, but then decreases again to levels between 0.33 and 0.54 throughout 2024 and into 2025. This trend indicates a diminishing cushion of cash and cash equivalents relative to current liabilities, suggesting a potential reduction in immediately available liquidity.

Overall Liquidity Analysis

The combined analysis of these ratios points to a consistent weakening in liquidity from 2020 through late 2022, followed by some stabilization with minor fluctuations in 2023 and beyond. While the current ratio remains above 1 throughout, indicating ongoing ability to meet short-term obligations, the declining quick and cash ratios highlight a decrease in highly liquid assets relative to liabilities. This could reflect strategic shifts in working capital management or changes in asset composition, possibly towards higher inventory levels or receivables. Careful monitoring of liquidity and short-term financial health appears warranted given these gradual downward movements.

The financial data indicates several notable trends and patterns in liquidity management over the observed periods. The current assets exhibit fluctuations, peaking notably at the end of October 2020 with $16,654 million and later reaching another high of $15,314 million in November 2025. However, there is a general tendency of decline from the 2020 peak towards mid-2022, followed by some recovery and subsequent oscillations through 2025.

Current liabilities demonstrate a rising trend initially, climbing sharply from $4,670 million in May 2020 to $11,817 million in October 2020. Thereafter, current liabilities fluctuate but tend to maintain relatively higher levels compared to early 2020, closing at $14,001 million in November 2025. This suggests an overall increase in short-term obligations over the time frame.

The current ratio, a key indicator of liquidity, shows a clear downward trend from May 2020 through late 2025. It starts at a robust 2.2, falling considerably to around 1.1 by November 2025. This decline indicates that the company's short-term assets relative to its short-term liabilities have diminished, possibly pointing to tighter liquidity conditions or a more conservative asset management approach.

Current Assets

Displayed volatility with a peak in late 2020 and subsequent fluctuations, generally trending downward into mid-2022, then partially recovering with periodic variation through 2025.

Current Liabilities

Increased substantially during 2020, remained elevated with fluctuations thereafter, ending materially higher in 2025 versus early 2020 levels.

Current Ratio

Consistent decline from a strong liquidity position above 2.0 in early 2020 to near 1.1 by late 2025, suggesting reduced short-term financial flexibility.

Overall, the data reflect a scenario where current assets, while relatively stable at times, have not kept pace with the rising current liabilities, resulting in a steadily decreasing current ratio. This trend may require attention regarding working capital management and short-term financial planning to ensure ongoing liquidity adequacy.

The analysis of the quarterly financial data reveals several key trends in liquidity and short-term financial health over the observed periods.

Total Quick Assets

Total quick assets demonstrate notable fluctuations across the quarters. Initially, there is a sharp increase from approximately 4,460 million USD to a peak near 11,046 million USD within the first year. Subsequently, a downward trend is observed, reaching a low around 3,936 million USD late in the data set. From this low point, total quick assets show some recovery, increasing to values between approximately 5,000 million and 6,100 million USD in the most recent quarters. This volatility may reflect changes in cash, marketable securities, and receivables that constitute quick assets.

Current Liabilities

Current liabilities generally increase over the same period, starting near 4,670 million USD and rising steadily, with occasional variations, to exceed 14,000 million USD by the final quarter. This indicates growing short-term obligations, which potentially impact liquidity ratios negatively if not matched by corresponding increases in quick assets.

Quick Ratio

The quick ratio, an indicator of the ability to cover current liabilities with quick assets, initially remains close to or slightly above 1.0, suggesting healthy liquidity in early periods. However, a marked decline follows, with the ratio dropping below 0.5 in multiple quarters, indicating increasing difficulty in covering short-term liabilities purely with quick assets. Occasional minor rebounds are noted, but the ratio generally remains below 0.6 in the latter quarters, signaling tighter liquidity conditions.

Overall Insights

The financial data suggest that while quick assets experienced initial growth, the subsequent decrease combined with steadily rising current liabilities led to a significant reduction in liquidity as measured by the quick ratio. This may indicate increasing short-term financial risk or more aggressive liability management. The partial recovery in quick assets in recent quarters slightly improves liquidity, but the quick ratio remains subdued relative to earlier periods.

Continuous monitoring of these trends is warranted to assess ongoing liquidity management strategies and the company's ability to meet short-term obligations without reliance on inventory sales or additional financing.

The financial data reveals several key trends relating to liquidity and short-term financial obligations over the time periods examined.

Total Cash Assets

Total cash assets exhibited significant volatility, with an initial upward trend from 4,288 million USD to a peak of 10,582 million USD between May 2020 and October 2020. Following this peak, cash assets declined progressively to a low near 3,365 million USD by October 2022. After this trough, there was a moderate recovery in the subsequent quarters, with cash balances fluctuating around 4,000 to 5,600 million USD through early 2024 and remaining relatively stable into late 2025, ending close to 4,640 million USD.

Current Liabilities

Current liabilities showed a general upward trend over the entire period. Starting at approximately 4,670 million USD in May 2020, liabilities increased sharply to above 11,800 million USD by October 2020. Although some oscillations occurred, liabilities generally remained elevated above 9,000 million USD through early 2022. Thereafter, a gradual increase continued, reaching a maximum of approximately 14,001 million USD by November 2025, indicating rising short-term obligations.

Cash Ratio

The cash ratio, representing the company's ability to cover current liabilities with cash and cash equivalents, declined markedly over the timeframe. Beginning at a healthy 0.92 in May 2020, it decreased to about 0.30 by October 2022, reflecting diminishing liquidity relative to liabilities. Although there was a partial recovery post-October 2022, with the ratio rising again above 0.50 in early 2024, the overall trend remained downward, concluding near 0.33 by November 2025. This suggests a weakening cash position against current liabilities despite fluctuations.

In summary, the data indicates a narrowing cushion of cash relative to current liabilities over the years, with total cash assets first rising sharply, then declining and stabilizing at lower levels, while current liabilities have consistently increased. The resulting decline in the cash ratio throughout the period points to reduced liquidity protection against short-term obligations, highlighting a potential area of concern for financial flexibility.