# Cash and equivalents

> Cash and very short-term, highly liquid investments on the balance sheet date.

Updated Oct 17, 2026.

Cash and cash equivalents are cash in hand and in bank accounts, plus investments so short-term and liquid that they are as good as cash: typically those maturing within three months of purchase, such as money market funds and Treasury bills.

## How Listed shows it

As reported on the balance sheet, under the XBRL concept `CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue`, or `CashAndCashEquivalents` for IFRS filers. It is an amount on one date, the balance sheet date, so it is never added across quarters.

## What it leaves out

- **Short-term investments and marketable securities.** Many large companies hold most of their liquid funds in these, on separate lines. Cash and equivalents alone can understate how much a company could raise quickly.
- **Restricted cash.** Cash the company cannot freely use is reported separately. The cash flow statement's ending balance usually includes restricted cash, so it can differ from the balance sheet figure Listed uses.

## When it says "not reported"

The company tags its cash with a different concept, for example one that combines cash with restricted cash on the face of the balance sheet, or one of its own.

## Related terms

- [Net debt](/glossary/net-debt.md)
- [Total debt](/glossary/total-debt.md)
- [Current assets](/glossary/current-assets.md)
- [Current ratio](/glossary/current-ratio.md)

## Guides that use it

- [How to read a 10-K](/guides/how-to-read-a-10-k.md)

All terms: [/glossary.md](/glossary.md)