Richard Passov

Tras su fusión con su rival Warner-Lambert en 2000, el gigante farmacéutico Pfizer, con sede en Nueva York, se encontró con una posición de caja neta cercana a los 6 000 millones de dólares. Eso parecía extraordinariamente conservador para una empresa cuyos productos generaban cerca de 30 000 millones de dólares en ingresos. Entre esos productos figuraban algunos de los medicamentos más vendidos del mundo. Solo la superproducción anticolesterol Lipitor generó ingresos mundiales de más de 7 000 millones de dólares en 2001.

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Reprint: R0311J 

In late 2001, the directors of Pfizer asked that very question. And with good reason. After its 2000 merger with rival Warner-Lambert, the New York&#8211;based pharmaceutical giant found itself sitting on a net cash position of $6 billion, which seemed extraordinarily conservative for a company whose products generated $30 billion in revenues. Most large companies with revenues that healthy would increase leverage, thereby unlocking tremendous value for shareholders. But knowledge-intensive companies like Pfizer, this author argues, are in a class apart. Because their largely intangible assets (like R&#038;D) are highly volatile and cannot easily be valued, they are more vulnerable to financial distress than are firms with a preponderance of tangible assets. To insure against that risk, they need to maintain large positive cash balances.
These companies&#8217; decisions to run large cash balances is one of the key reasons their shares sustain consistent premiums. Only by investing in their intangible assets can knowledge-based companies hope to preserve the value of those assets. A company that finds itself unable to do so because unfavorable market conditions reduce its operating cash flows will see its share price suffer almost as much as if it were to default on its debts. By the same token, with the right balance sheet, knowledge companies can profitably insure against the risk of failing to sustain value-added investments in difficult times. An optimal capital structure that calls for significant cash balances is certainly at odds with the results of a traditional capital structure analysis, the author demonstrates, but it explains the financial policies of many well-run companies, from Pfizer to Intel to ChevronTexaco.

How Much Cash Does Your Company Need?

Reimpresión: R0311J A finales de 2001, los directores de Pfizer hicieron esa misma pregunta. Y por una buena razón. Tras su fusión en 2000 con su rival Warner-Lambert, el gigante farmacéutico con sede en Nueva York se encontró con una posición de caja neta de 6 000 millones de dólares, lo que parecía extraordinariamente conservador para una empresa cuyos productos generaban 30 000 millones de dólares en ingresos. La mayoría de las grandes empresas con ingresos tan saludables aumentarían el apalancamiento y, por lo tanto, generarían un enorme valor para los accionistas. Pero las empresas que hacen un uso intensivo del conocimiento, como Pfizer, pertenecen a una clase aparte. Como sus activos, en gran medida intangibles (como la I+D), son muy volátiles y no se pueden valorar fácilmente, son más vulnerables a las dificultades financieras que las empresas con una preponderancia de activos tangibles. Para protegerse de ese riesgo, necesitan mantener grandes saldos de caja positivos. La decisión de estas empresas de gestionar grandes saldos de caja es una de las principales razones por las que sus acciones mantienen primas constantes. Las empresas basadas en el conocimiento solo pueden conservar el valor de esos activos si invierten en sus activos intangibles. Una empresa que no pueda hacerlo porque las condiciones desfavorables del mercado reducen sus flujos de caja operativos verá cómo la cotización de sus acciones se ve afectada casi tanto como si dejara de pagar sus deudas. Del mismo modo, con un balance adecuado, las empresas del conocimiento pueden asegurarse de forma rentable contra el riesgo de no mantener las inversiones con valor añadido en tiempos difíciles. El autor demuestra que una estructura de capital óptima que exija saldos de caja significativos está en desacuerdo con los resultados de un análisis de la estructura de capital tradicional, pero explica las políticas financieras de muchas empresas bien gestionadas, desde Pfizer hasta Intel y ChevronTexaco.

&iquest;Cu&aacute;nto dinero necesita su empresa?

Reprint: R0311J In late 2001, the directors of Pfizer asked that very question. And with good reason. After its 2000 merger with rival Warner-Lambert, the New York–based pharmaceutical giant found itself sitting on a net cash position of $6 billion, which seemed extraordinarily conservative for a company whose products generated $30 billion in revenues. Most large companies with revenues that healthy would increase leverage, thereby unlocking tremendous value for shareholders. But knowledge-intensive companies like Pfizer, this author argues, are in a class apart. Because their largely intangible assets (like R&D) are highly volatile and cannot easily be valued, they are more vulnerable to financial distress than are firms with a preponderance of tangible assets. To insure against that risk, they need to maintain large positive cash balances. These companies’ decisions to run large cash balances is one of the key reasons their shares sustain consistent premiums. Only by investing in their intangible assets can knowledge-based companies hope to preserve the value of those assets. A company that finds itself unable to do so because unfavorable market conditions reduce its operating cash flows will see its share price suffer almost as much as if it were to default on its debts. By the same token, with the right balance sheet, knowledge companies can profitably insure against the risk of failing to sustain value-added investments in difficult times. An optimal capital structure that calls for significant cash balances is certainly at odds with the results of a traditional capital structure analysis, the author demonstrates, but it explains the financial policies of many well-run companies, from Pfizer to Intel to ChevronTexaco.

¿Cuánto dinero necesita su empresa?

Resumen.

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