The Meridian Score
Financial Health
How sound the company’s balance sheet is next to its sector peers: how much it has borrowed against what shareholders own (debt to equity), how many times its operating profit covers the interest bill (interest coverage), whether its short-term assets cover the bills due this year (current ratio), how many years of operating earnings it would take to clear its debt net of cash (net debt to EBITDA), plus two well-known checklists — the Piotroski F-score, a 0–9 tally of improving profitability, leverage and efficiency, and the Altman Z-score, a measure of distance from bankruptcy. A high grade means the business can ride out a bad year without needing to borrow, cut its dividend or issue new shares. A low grade is a warning that one weak stretch could force a hard choice. Banks and insurers are judged on the measures that fit a lender, because for them borrowing is the business itself.
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Educational information, not investment advice. See it applied across the screener →