NextEra Energy's Debt Overview

Shares of NextEra Energy Inc. NEE moved higher by 17.63% in the past three months. Before we understand the importance of debt, let's look at how much debt NextEra Energy has.

NextEra Energy's Debt

According to the NextEra Energy’s most recent financial statement as reported on April 23, 2020, total debt is at $48.09 billion, with $41.12 billion in long-term debt and $6.98 billion in current debt. Adjusting for $3.33 billion in cash-equivalents, the company has a net debt of $44.76 billion.

Investors look at the debt-ratio to understand how much financial leverage a company has. NextEra Energy has $120.64 billion in total assets, therefore making the debt-ratio 0.4. As a rule of thumb, a debt-ratio more than 1 indicates that a considerable portion of debt is funded by assets. A higher debt-ratio can also imply that the company might be putting itself at risk for default, if interest rates were to increase. However, debt-ratios vary widely across different industries. A debt ratio of 40% might be higher for one industry, whereas average for another.

Why Debt Is Important

Debt is an important factor in the capital structure of a company, and can help it attain growth. Debt usually has a relatively lower financing cost than equity, which makes it an attractive option for executives.

Interest-payment obligations can impact the cash-flow of the company. Having financial leverage also allows companies to use additional capital for business operations, allowing equity owners to retain excess profit, generated by the debt capital.