Multi-Currency Accounts
In the globalized world of today, it is common for a business to go international. Almost any company which has a sizeable turnover has to deal with suppliers and vendors from across the globe. It is true that businesses receive the benefits of such expansion. However, there are also certain costs which are associated with […]
The True Cost of Raising Funds
A startup is considered to be successful when it is able to raise money. The fact that a startup was able to convince potential investors to open their wallets is considered to be proof that the business model is stable. The fundraising aspect can be considered to be quite thrilling and even glamorous. However, it […]
Protectionist Sentiment over Flipkart Takeover
The Wal-Mart Flipkart deal has become historic in many aspects. Firstly, this is the biggest, most valued takeover of a company in India. Also, it gives entry to Wal-Mart to enter India via the e-commerce route. Many believe that this deal will pave the way for increasing globalization by increasing the FDI limit for the […]
Multi-Banking: Meaning and Characteristics
The commercial banking industry is undergoing a rapid transformation. This transformation has been enabled by the increasing use of digital technologies in the commercial banking industry. Open banking has become a game changer when it comes to the field of commercial banking. It has enabled the use of many other modern banking solutions. Multi-banking is […]
Team Sponsorship: Advantages and Disadvantages
In the previous articles, we have already come across the concept of team sponsorship. We have seen how teams can sell different types of sponsorships in order to raise money. This definitely ends up increasing the cash flow as well as the return on investment for the team. It also generally provides a positive return […]
The debt to equity ratio is the most important of all capital adequacy ratios. It is seen by investors and analysts worldwide as the true measure of riskiness of the firm. This ratio is often quoted in the financials of the company as well as in discussions pertaining to the financial health of the company in TV shows newspapers etc.
Debt to Equity Ratio = Total Debt / Total Equity
The total equity includes retained earnings which have been listed on the balance sheet
There is subjectivity with regards to treatment of preference shares. Some companies add them to debt while others add them to equity based on the relative features of the preference shares issued. However, usually the quantum of preference shares in not big enough to make a difference.
The debt to equity ratio tells the shareholders as well as debt holders the relative amounts they are contributing to the capital. It needs to be understood that it is a part to part comparison and not a part to whole comparison.
The debt to equity ratio measures the amount of debt based on the figures stated in the balance sheet. Of late there have been many ways figured out to take on debt without it showing up on the balance sheet.
The debt to equity ratio is a very old measure and is not meant to take into account such complication. Some analysts factor in off balance sheet debt as well to get a better picture. However, they do not have enough information to be very accurate at this endeavor.
Debt to equity ratio provides two very important pieces of information to the analysts. They have been listed below.
Shareholders as well as debt holders want to know what the maximum downside is and debt to equity ratio helps them understand what they would end up with if the company were to stop functioning as a going concern.
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