Financials
Debt-to-equity
A leverage ratio comparing debt with shareholders equity.
What it means
Debt-to-equity is one way to inspect capital structure. The usefulness of the ratio depends on debt definitions, industry norms, cash balances, and asset intensity.
Example
A utility and a software company can have very different normal leverage profiles.
What not to infer
The ratio alone does not show debt maturity, interest cost, covenants, or refinancing risk.