Net-Net Working Capital NCAV
Benjamin Graham's deep-value floor: current assets minus all liabilities, ignoring fixed assets, as a conservative estimate of liquidation value.
What it is
Net Current Asset Value (NCAV) is current assets minus total liabilities, counting fixed assets like plant and goodwill as zero. It is Benjamin Graham's estimate of a company's liquidation value: roughly what shareholders might recover if the firm wound down and sold only its liquid assets. The stricter Net-Net Working Capital (NNWC) version goes further, haircutting receivables to about 75% and inventory to about 50% before subtracting all liabilities. A stock trading below this figure is nicknamed a "net-net."
Why it matters
Graham bought net-nets only when the price fell to two-thirds (or less) of NCAV, treating that discount as a built-in margin of safety since you were paying less than liquid value for the whole business. The pitfall: genuine net-nets are very rare in modern markets and are usually there for a reason. Most are cash-burning microcaps whose assets are eroding faster than the discount implies, so a "cheap" net-net can be a classic value trap rather than a bargain.
How it's calculated
Take total current assets straight from the balance sheet and subtract total liabilities (the strict version also subtracts preferred stock); fixed and intangible assets are excluded entirely. For NNWC, first discount the riskier current assets, counting cash at full value, receivables at roughly 75%, and inventory at roughly 50%, then subtract all liabilities. Divide the result by shares outstanding to compare against the stock price.
How Quintarthai uses it
On a company's deep-analysis page you can read off current assets and total liabilities from the balance sheet to estimate NCAV per share and gauge how far the price sits above it. Pair it with related liquidation-style metrics in the Knowledge Base when screening for deep-value names.