Debt-to-Equity (D/E) Ratio

By JASON FERNANDO

Updated May 24, 2023

Reviewed by JULIUS MANSA

Fact checked by PETE RATHBURN

债务股本比

作者：JASON FERNANDO

更新时间：2023年5月24日

审阅人：JULIUS MANSA

事实核查人：PETE RATHBURN

What Is Debt-to-Equity (D/E) Ratio?

什么是债务股本比？

Debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio is used to evaluate a company’s financial leverage and is calculated by dividing a company’s total liabilities by its shareholder equity. D/E ratio is an important metric in corporate finance. It is a measure of the degree to which a company is financing its operations with debt rather than its own resources. Debt-to-equity ratio is a particular type of gearing ratio.

债务股本比是衡量公司财务杠杆的指标，计算方法是将公司的总负债除以其股东权益。债务股本比是一个重要的财务指标。它是衡量一家公司用债务而不是自有资源为其运营融资的程度。债务股本比是一种特殊类型的杠杆比率。

KEY TAKEAWAYS

文章要点

Debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio compares a company’s total liabilities with its shareholder equity and can be used to assess the extent of its reliance on debt.

债务股本比将公司的总负债与其股东权益进行比较，可用于评估其对债务的依赖程度。

D/E ratios vary by industry and are best used to compare direct competitors or to measure change in the company’s reliance on debt over time.

债务股本比因行业而异，最适合用于比较直接竞争对手或衡量公司对债务依赖程度随时间的变化。

Among similar companies, a higher D/E ratio suggests more risk, while a particularly low one may indicate that a business is not taking advantage of debt financing to expand.

在相似的公司中，较高的债务股本比意味着更大的风险，而特别低的债务股本比可能表明企业没有利用债务融资进行扩张。

Investors will often modify the D/E ratio to consider only long-term debt because it carries more risk than short-term obligations.

投资者通常会将债务股本比修改为仅考虑长期债务，因为长期债务的风险比短期债务更大。

D/E Ratio Formula and Calculation

债务股本比计算公式

Debt/Equity=Total Liabilities/Total Shareholders’ Equity

债务股本比=总负债/总股东权益

The information needed to calculate D/E ratio can be found on a listed company’s balance sheet. Subtracting the value of liabilities on the balance sheet from that of total assets shown there provides the figure for shareholder equity, which is a rearranged version of this balance sheet equation:

计算债务股本比所需的信息可以在上市公司的资产负债表上找到。从总资产中减去资产负债表上的负债价值，就可以得到股东权益的数值，这是资产负债表等式的重新排列之版本：

Assets=Liabilities+Shareholder Equity

资产=负债+股东权益

These balance sheet categories may include items that would not normally be considered debt or equity in the traditional sense of a loan or an asset. Because the ratio can be distorted by retained earnings or losses, intangible assets, and pension plan adjustments, further research is usually needed to understand to what extent a company relies on debt.

这些资产负债表类别可能包括通常不被视为传统意义上的贷款或资产的债务或权益的项目。因为这一比率可能会因留存收益或损失、无形资产和养老金计划调整而被扭曲，所以通常需要通过进一步的研究来了解公司对债务的依赖程度。

To get a clearer picture and facilitate comparisons, analysts and investors will often modify the D/E ratio. They also assess the D/E ratio in the context of short-term leverage ratios, profitability, and growth expectations.

为了更清楚地了解情况并便于比较，分析师和投资者通常会修改债务股本比。他们还在短期杠杆率、盈利能力和增长预期的背景下评估债务股本比。

What Does D/E Ratio Tell You?

债务股本比会告诉你什么？

D/E ratio measures how much debt a company has taken on relative to the value of its assets net of liabilities. Debt must be repaid or refinanced, imposes interest expense that typically can’t be deferred, and could impair or destroy the value of equity in the event of a default. As a result, a high D/E ratio is often associated with high investment risk; it means that a company relies primarily on debt financing.

债务股本比衡量的是一家公司相对于其扣除负债后的资产价值承担了多少债务。债务必须被偿还或者必须就其进行再融资，产生通常不能延期的利息支出，并可能在违约时损害或摧毁股权价值。因此，高债务股本比往往伴随着高投资风险；这意味着一家公司主要依赖债务融资。

Example of D/E Ratio

债务股本比示例

Let’s consider a historical example from Apple Inc. (AAPL). We can see below that for the fiscal year (FY) ended 2017, Apple had total liabilities of $241 billion (rounded) and total shareholders’ equity of $134 billion, according to the company’s 10-K statement.

以苹果公司以往的指标为例。在下文中，我们可以看到，根据苹果公司的10-K报表，截至2017财年，苹果的总负债（取整后）为2410亿美元，总股东权益为1340亿美元。

Using the above formula, the D/E ratio for Apple can be calculated as:

根据上述公式，苹果公司的债务股本比计算方式如下：

Debt-to-equity=$241,000,000/134,000,000=1.80

债务股本比=2410亿美元/1340亿美元=1.80

The result means that Apple had $1.80 of debt for every dollar of equity. But on its own, the ratio doesn’t give investors the complete picture. It’s important to compare the ratio with that of other similar companies.

这一结果表示，苹果每1美元的股本中就存在1.80美元的债务。但就其本身而言，这一比率并不能为投资者提供全貌。与其他相似公司的比率进行比较是很重要的。

Modifying the D/E Ratio

改进债务股本比

Not all debt is equally risky. The long-term D/E ratio focuses on riskier long-term debt by using its value instead of that for total liabilities in the numerator of the standard formula:

并非所有债务的风险都同样大。长期债务股本比通过将其价值而非总负债的价值当作公式中的分子而将关注放在风险更高的长期债务中：

Long-term D/E ratio = Long-term debt ÷ Shareholder equity

长期债务股本比=长期债务÷股东权益

Short-term debt also increases a company’s leverage, of course, but because these liabilities must be paid in a year or less, they aren’t as risky. For example, imagine a company with $1 million in short-term payables (wages, accounts payable, notes, etc.) and $500,000 in long-term debt, compared with a company with $500,000 in short-term payables and $1 million in long-term debt. If both companies have $1.5 million in shareholder equity, then they both have a D/E ratio of 1. On the surface, the risk from leverage is identical, but in reality, the second company is riskier.

当然，短期债务也会增加公司的杠杆率，但因为这些债务必须在一年或更短时间内偿还，所以风险没有那么大。例如，想象一家公司有100万美元的短期应付款（工资、应付账款、票据等）和50万美元的长期债务，而另一家公司的短期应付款为50万美元，长期债务为100万美元。如果两家公司都有150万美元的股东权益，那么它们的债务股本比都是1。从表面上看，杠杆带来的风险是相同的，但实际上，第二家公司的风险更大。

As a rule, short-term debt tends to be cheaper than long-term debt and is less sensitive to shifts in interest rates, meaning that the second company’s interest expense and cost of capital are likely higher. If interest rates are higher when the long-term debt comes due and needs to be refinanced, then interest expense will rise.

通常，短期债务往往比长期债务更便宜，对利率变化不太敏感，这就意味着第二家公司的利息支出和资本成本可能更高。如果长期债务到期需要再融资时利率更高，那么利息支出就会上升。

Finally, if we assume that the company will not default over the next year, then debt due sooner shouldn’t be a concern. In contrast, a company’s ability to service long-term debt will depend on its long-term business prospects, which are less certain.

最后，如果我们假设公司明年不会违约，那么提前到期的债务便不会是问题。相比之下，一家公司偿还长期债务的能力将取决于其长期业务前景，而长期业务前景则具有更高的不确定性。

What is a good debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio?

什么是好的债务股本比？

What counts as a “good” debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio will depend on the nature of the business and its industry. Generally speaking, a D/E ratio below 1 would be seen as relatively safe, whereas values of 2 or higher might be considered risky. Companies in some industries, such as utilities, consumer staples, and banking, typically have relatively high D/E ratios. Note that a particularly low D/E ratio may be a negative, suggesting that the company is not taking advantage of debt financing and its tax advantages. (Business interest expense is usually tax deductible, while dividend payments are subject to corporate and personal income tax.)

什么算“好的”债务股本比将取决于企业及其所在行业的性质。一般来说，债务股本比低于1会被视为相对安全，而2或2以上将可能被视为存在风险。公用事业、消费品和银行业等行业的债务股本比一般会更高。请注意，债务股本比特别低的话也可能会是负面的，这表明公司并未利用债务融资及其税务优势。（企业利息支出通常可以进行税费减免，而股息支出则需要缴纳企业所得税和个人所得税。）

What does a D/E ratio of 1.5 indicate?

1.5的债务股本比可以说明什么？

A D/E ratio of 1.5 would indicate that the company in question has $1.50 of debt for every $1 of equity. To illustrate, suppose the company had assets of $2 million and liabilities of $1.2 million. Because equity is equal to assets minus liabilities, the company’s equity would be $800,000. Its D/E ratio would therefore be $1.2 million divided by $800,000, or 1.5.

债务股本比为1.5表明该公司每1美元的股本中就有1.50美元的债务。举例来说，假设该公司有200万美元的资产和120万美元的负债。因为权益等于资产减去负债，所以公司的权益是800,000美元。因此，其债务股本比为120万美元除以80万美元，即1.5。

What does a negative D/E ratio signal?

负的债务股本比意味着什么？

If a company has a negative D/E ratio, this means that it has negative shareholder equity. In other words, the company’s liabilities exceed its assets. In most cases, this would be considered a sign of high risk and an incentive to seek bankruptcy protection.

如果一家公司的债务股本比为负值，这就意味着其股东权益为负。换句话说，即这家公司的负债超过了资产。在大多数情况，这将被视为高风险的迹象和寻求破产保护的动机。

What industries have high D/E ratios?

哪些行业的债务股本比比较高？

In the banking and financial services sector, a relatively high D/E ratio is commonplace. Banks carry higher amounts of debt because they own substantial fixed assets in the form of branch networks. Higher D/E ratios can also tend to predominate in other capital-intensive sectors heavily reliant on debt financing, such as airlines and industrials.

在银行和金融服务部门，相对较高的债务股本比是常见的。银行背负着更高的债务，因为它们以分支网络的形式拥有大量固定资产。较高的债务股本比也可能在严重依赖债务融资的其他资本密集型领域（如航空公司和工业）占主导地位。

How can D/E ratio be used to measure a company’s riskiness?

如何使用债务股本比衡量公司风险？

A steadily rising D/E ratio may make it harder for a company to obtain financing in the future. The growing reliance on debt could eventually lead to difficulties in servicing the company’s current loan obligations. Very high D/E ratios may eventually result in a loan default or bankruptcy.

稳步上升的债务股本比可能会使公司未来更难获得融资。对债务的日益依赖最终可能导致公司难以偿还当前的贷款。非常高的债务股本比最终可能导致贷款违约或破产。

The Bottom Line

关键信息

Debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio can help investors identify highly leveraged companies that may pose risks during business downturns. Investors can compare a company’s D/E ratio with the average for its industry and those of competitors to gain a sense of a company’s reliance on debt. But not all high D/E ratios signal poor business prospects. In fact, debt can enable the company to grow and generate additional income. But if a company has grown increasingly reliant on debt or inordinately so for its industry, potential investors will want to investigate further.

债务股本比可以帮助投资者识别在商业低迷时期可能带来风险的高杠杆公司。投资者可以将一家公司的债务股本比与其行业和竞争对手的平均水平进行比较，以了解一家公司对债务的依赖程度。但并不是所有的高债务股本比都预示着糟糕的商业前景。事实上，债务可以使公司发展壮大并创造额外的收入。但如果一家公司越来越依赖债务，或者与其行业相比过度依赖债务，潜在投资者将需要进一步调查。