Net Operating Assets Calculator

What are net operating assets (NOA)?

Net operating assets measure the capital a business has tied up in its core operations. NOA equals operating assets minus operating liabilities, excluding financing items such as debt, cash invested for non-operating purposes, and equity. Analysts use NOA with net operating profit after tax (NOPAT) to evaluate return on invested capital.

Operating assets include cash needed for operations, receivables, inventory, prepaid expenses, and operating fixed assets. Operating liabilities include payables and accrued operating expenses. For the current-asset subset used in working capital analysis, try the net operating working capital calculator. To connect profitability to the balance sheet, pair NOA with the net income calculator. For enterprise value relative to debt, see the net debt calculator.

Net operating assets formula

Classify each balance sheet line as operating or financing based on whether it supports core operations. Excess cash, marketable securities, and short-term investments held for treasury purposes are often removed from operating cash in advanced models.

Worked example

Operating assets total $1,950,000 from $250,000 cash, $200,000 receivables, $400,000 inventory, $100,000 prepaid expenses, and $1,000,000 fixed assets. Operating liabilities total $1,650,000 from $450,000 payables and $1,200,000 accrued expenses. Net operating assets equal $300,000.

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