Benjamin Graham · NCAV
Subtracts all liabilities and senior claims from current assets to identify deep-value companies trading below conservative liquidation protection.
- Guide level
- Practical
- Output
- Asset value
Core formula
NCAV = current assets − total liabilities − preferred claimsHow to interpret it
Subtracts all liabilities and senior claims from current assets to identify deep-value companies trading below conservative liquidation protection.
The output should be read as a scenario or decision aid, not as a guaranteed price target. Compare it with at least one method based on different economic assumptions.
Practical workflow
- Normalize the latest public financial and operating data.
- Choose assumptions that match the company's economics and accounting structure.
- Calculate conservative, base and optimistic cases where the method permits.
- Compare the result with market pricing and an independent valuation method.
- Document the assumptions that drive the largest changes in value.
Key limitation
Receivables and inventory may realize far below book value, while ongoing losses erode the buffer.
How Stockinsky uses it
Stockinsky uses this framework only when the company type and available data support it. Professional valuations expose assumptions, sources and warnings instead of presenting false precision.