Over the past three months, shares of Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) increased by 0.97%. Before having a look at the importance of debt, let us look at how much debt Autoliv has.
Autoliv's Debt
Based on Autoliv's balance sheet as of October 22, 2021, long-term debt is at $1.69 billion and current debt is at $364.00 million, amounting to $2.05 billion in total debt. Adjusted for $903.00 million in cash-equivalents, the company's net debt is at $1.15 billion.
Let's define some of the terms we used in the paragraph above. Current debt is the portion of a company's debt which is due within 1 year, while long-term debt is the portion due in more than 1 year. Cash equivalents include cash and any liquid securities with maturity periods of 90 days or less. Total debt equals current debt plus long-term debt minus cash equivalents.
To understand the degree of financial leverage a company has, investors look at the debt ratio. Considering Autoliv's $7.51 billion in total assets, the debt-ratio is at 0.27. Generally speaking, a debt-ratio more than one means that a large portion of debt is funded by assets. As the debt-ratio increases, so the does the risk of defaulting on loans, if interest rates were to increase. Different industries have different thresholds of tolerance for debt-ratios. A debt ratio of 40% might be higher for one industry and average for another.
Why Investors Look At Debt?
Debt is an important factor in the capital structure of a company, and can help it attain growth. Debt usually has a relatively lower financing cost than equity, which makes it an attractive option for executives.
Interest-payment obligations can impact the cash-flow of the company. Having financial leverage also allows companies to use additional capital for business operations, allowing equity owners to retain excess profit, generated by the debt capital.
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