What is a Good Debt Ratio?

Debt ratios can be used to describe the financial health of individuals, businesses or governments. Like other accounting ratios, investors and lenders calculate the debt ratio for a business from major financial statements.

The debt ratio for a given company reveals whether or not it has loans and, if so, how its credit financing compares to its assets. It is calculated by dividing total liabilities by total assets, with higher debt ratios indicating higher degrees of debt financing. Whether or not a debt ratio is good depends on the context within which it is being analyzed.

From a pure risk perspective, lower ratios (0.4 or lower) are considered better debt ratios. Since the interest on a debt must be paid regardless of business profitability, too much debt may compromise the entire operation if cash flow dries up. Companies unable to service their own debt may be forced to sell off assets or declare bankruptcy.

A higher debt ratio (0.6 or higher) makes it more difficult to borrow money. Lenders often have debt ratio limits and do not extend further credit to firms that are over-leveraged. Of course, there are other factors as well, such as credit worthiness, payment history, and professional relationships.

On the other hand, investors rarely want to purchase the stock of a company with extremely low debt ratios. A debt ratio of zero would indicate that the firm does not finance increased operations through borrowing at all, which limits the total return that can be realized and passed on to shareholders.

While the debt to equity ratio is a better measure of opportunity cost than the basic debt ratio, this principle still holds true: there is some risk associated with having too little debt.

Generally speaking, larger and more established companies are able to push the liabilities side of their ledgers further than newer or smaller companies. Larger companies tend to have more solidified cash flows, and they are also more likely to have negotiable relationships with their lenders.

Debt ratios are also interest rate sensitive; all-interest bearing assets have interest rate risk, whether they are business loans or bonds. The same principal amount is more expensive to pay off at 10% than it is at 5%.

There is a sense that all debt ratio analysis must be done on a company-by-company basis. Balancing the dual risks of debt—credit risk and opportunity cost—is something that all companies must do.

Certain sectors are more prone to large levels of indebtedness than others, however. Capital-intensive businesses, such as manufacturing or utilities, can get away with slightly higher debt ratios when they are expanding operations. It is important to evaluate industry standards and historical performance relative to debt levels. Many investors look for a company to have a debt ratio between 0.3 and 0.6.