Hard Asset

What Does Hard Asset Mean?
A tangible and physical item or object of worth that is owned by an individual or a corporation. In currency transactions, hard assets are synonymous with currencies that the public generally has faith in, such as the U.S. dollar or the euro.

A hard asset is the opposite of an intangible item such as goodwill or a patent.

Investopedia explains Hard Asset
Hard assets often refer to items such as buildings, cash or other fungible assets. Hard assets are considered particularly valuable because they can be used to produce or purchase other goods or services.

When analysts calculate a company's intrinsic value, a portion of this underlying value is derived from the value of its hard assets.