What Is Considered a High Debt-To-Equity (D/E) Ratio? (2024)

FAQs

What Is Considered a High Debt-To-Equity (D/E) Ratio? ›

Generally, a good debt-to-equity ratio is anything lower than 1.0. A ratio of 2.0 or higher is usually considered risky. If a debt-to-equity ratio is negative, it means that the company has more liabilities than assets—this company would be considered extremely risky.

The maximum acceptable debt-to-equity ratio for more companies is between 1.5-2 or less. Large companies having a value higher than 2 of the debt-to-equity ratio is acceptable. 3. A debt-to-equity ratio indicates that a company may not be able to generate enough cash to satisfy its debt obligations.

A debt ratio below 30% is excellent. Above 40% is critical. Lenders could deny you a loan.

Generally, a lower ratio is better, as it implies that the company is in less debt and is less risky for lenders and investors. A debt-to-equity ratio of 0.5 or below is considered good.

Although it varies from industry to industry, a debt-to-equity ratio of around 2 or 2.5 is generally considered good. This ratio tells us that for every dollar invested in the company, about 66 cents come from debt, while the other 33 cents come from the company's equity.

Key takeaways. Debt-to-income ratio is your monthly debt obligations compared to your gross monthly income (before taxes), expressed as a percentage. A good debt-to-income ratio is less than or equal to 36%. Any debt-to-income ratio above 43% is considered to be too much debt.

Overall, however, a D/E ratio of 1.5 or lower is considered desirable, and a ratio higher than 2 is considered less favorable.

Your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio is how much money you earn versus what you spend. It's calculated by dividing your monthly debts by your gross monthly income. Generally, it's a good idea to keep your DTI ratio below 43%, though 35% or less is considered “good.”

Financial industry companies tend to have the highest numbers, say, 20, while stable manufacturing companies are often in the low single digits. Having a number lower than 1, say, 0.45, could invite a buyout. Knowing what the ratio is and what makes a good debt-to-income ratio can help you make investment decisions.

When it comes to debt-to-equity, you're looking for a low number. This is because total liabilities represents the numerator of the ratio. The more debt you have, the higher your ratio will be. A ratio of roughly 2 or 2.5 is considered good, but anything higher than that is considered unfavorable.

Is 0.6 a good debt-to-equity ratio? ›

In general, many investors look for a company to have a debt ratio between 0.3 and 0.6. From a pure risk perspective, debt ratios of 0.4 or lower are considered better, while a debt ratio of 0.6 or higher makes it more difficult to borrow money.

The optimal debt-to-equity ratio will tend to vary widely by industry, but the general consensus is that it should not be above a level of 2.0. While some very large companies in fixed asset-heavy industries (such as mining or manufacturing) may have ratios higher than 2, these are the exception rather than the rule.

This example company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.4, or 40%, if expressed as a percentage. In other words, for every dollar of equity the company has, the business owes 40¢ to creditors.

Lenders prefer bad debt to sales ratios under 0.4 or 40%. However, most companies prefer to have much lower numbers than this. Unless you have no bad debt, there is room to improve.

The average D/E ratio among S&P 500 companies is approximately 1.5. A ratio lower than 1 is considered favorable since that indicates a company is relying more on equity than on debt to finance its operating costs.

A high debt-to-equity ratio generally means that a company could have difficulty paying off its debts in a business downturn. The higher the D/E, the riskier the business.

D e b t t o E q u i t y r a t i o = T o t a l l i a b i l i t i e s T o t a l E q u i t y. A value of $1.75, therefore, indicates that for every dollar of equity, a firm uses $1.75 in debt to finance its assets. This ratio indicates that the business has more credit financing than the owner's financing.

A debt-to-equity ratio of 0.8 means the firm has $0.80 of debt for every $1 of equity. A debt-to-equity ratio of 0.8 means the firm finances 80 percent of its assets with debt and the other 20 percent with equity.

This compares annual payments to service all consumer debts—excluding mortgage payments—divided by your net income. This should be 20% or less of net income. A ratio of 15% or lower is healthy, and 20% or higher is considered a warning sign.