What represents the short-term financial health of a company?

Working capital is a key indicator of a company’s short-term financial health. It is calculated as the difference between current assets and current liabilities. A positive working capital indicates that a company has sufficient short-term assets to cover its short-term obligations, which is essential for maintaining smooth operations and ensuring that the company can meet its financial commitments as they come due.

In contrast, total assets provide a broad overview of what the company owns at a particular time, but they do not specifically address the company's ability to manage its short-term obligations. Long-term liabilities relate to financial commitments that extend beyond a year, which are not directly relevant to assessing the short-term financial position. Net income, while important for understanding profitability, does not necessarily reflect immediate liquidity or the capacity to meet short-term debts. Thus, measuring working capital is the best approach to evaluate a company's short-term financial health.