Vox Rationalis

Coverage Ratios: What We Can Uncover in the S&P

"CF has been looking to buy Terra Industries, if the succeed my guess is that their balance sheet will probably tip and take them off of this list."

I don't think so - a glance at their recent financials indicates TRA would be close to making this list if it was bigger.

What this does show is they advantage these companies have in the current environment because of their solid balance sheets. Yes, their stocks have been hit just like everybody else's, but they are in a position where they can take advantage of lower asset values. CF is a perfect example, where it is trying to take advantage of the reduced value of a solid company. All of these companies are likely to be considering acquisitions - for us the trick is to get ahead of them.

Coverage Ratios: What We Can Uncover in the S&P

You need to go back to your data to include companies with zero debt. Apple and Google should clearly be on this list.