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The Impact of Intangibles on Base Rates
Urgency, Cash Holding, Grand Slams, and Reading
Peeyush Jain & Mohit Garg
September 17, 2025
In partnership with
Salutations, Olio aficionados! 👋
Midweek greetings to all, as we unveil the 187th chapter of Weekly Olio—a delightful concoction of laughter, insight, and a sprinkle of mystery. Within these pages, you'll discover a handpicked selection of fascinating finds from the vast realms of the internet.
Keep your eyes peeled for this week’s Publisher’s Parmesan, arriving this Sunday!
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The Quote 💭
“You are young and life is long, and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run. You missed the starting gun.
And you run, and you run, to catch up with the sun, but it’s sinking.”
The Tweet 🐦
Cash is the lifeblood of business, essential for paying salaries and seizing opportunities. But companies worldwide are now holding way more cash than they might ever need. Listed US companies held nearly $2.5 trillion in just cash at end of 2024, about 4.7% of their total market
— Markets by Zerodha (@zerodhamarkets)
1:22 PM • Sep 9, 2025
In recent years, big companies have been keeping more cash on hand. Publicly traded companies in the US now hold about 5% of their market value in cash. From 1970 to 2000, cash made up 5.8% of their total assets, but from 2001 to 2024, this has grown to nearly 10%. This trend is happening across tech companies, manufacturing firms, and IT service providers.
The Infographic 💹
In the 2000s, the Big Three dominated tennis Grand Slams, winning almost all the finals. Since 2023, things have changed. Federer and Nadal have retired, but Djokovic is still playing well. At the same time, new players like Alcaraz and Sinner are becoming prominent. In the last two years, every final has included these two. Will they dominate the 2020s and 2030s like the Big Three did before? We'll have to wait and see.
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The Short Read 📝
The Lamentable Decline of Reading - by Financial Times
Fewer people worldwide are reading books, newspapers, or magazines for fun, with only 16% of Americans reading daily compared to 28% twenty years ago. Social media and short videos are replacing traditional reading. However, those who do read are spending more time on it, boosting the publishing industry, as seen with a 5% increase in UK book sales and growth in stores like Waterstones. The main challenge is engaging non-readers, starting young with support from parents and school libraries, though many schools in poorer UK areas lack libraries.
Public libraries are crucial but face funding cuts, with U.S. federal support ended under Trump. Some countries, like Denmark, are removing barriers by scrapping book VAT. While government and industry efforts help, reversing the decline needs a cultural shift. Encouragingly, some young people are turning from social media to reading, offering hope for revival. Read more…
The Long Read 📜
The Impact of Intangibles on Base Rates - by Morgan Stanley
This article examines the increasing importance of intangible assets in company valuations and their impact on financial forecasting base rates. Forecasts are typically made using both narrative-based projections and statistical base rates. While base rates serve as useful benchmarks, they must adapt to changing realities. Leading companies often rely on intangible assets like software and intellectual property, which differ from tangible assets. Therefore, it's crucial to understand their impact and adjust base rates accordingly.
The key lessons: investors must adapt base rate thinking to reflect intangible-driven shifts, and opportunities lie in identifying firms positioned to outperform historical norms while avoiding those prone to rapid decline. Read more…
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We’ll be back in your inbox 2 PM IST next Wednesday. Till then, have a productive week!
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.
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