A Look Into AstraZeneca's Debt

Shares of AstraZeneca Inc. AZN rose by 9.33% in the past three months. Before we understand the importance of debt, let's look at how much debt AstraZeneca has.

AstraZeneca's Debt

According to the AstraZeneca’s most recent financial statement as reported on July 28, 2016, total debt is at $19.00 billion, with $16.95 billion in long-term debt and $2.06 billion in current debt. Adjusting for $3.92 billion in cash-equivalents, the company has a net debt of $15.09 billion.

Investors look at the debt-ratio to understand how much financial leverage a company has. AstraZeneca has $64.42 billion in total assets, therefore making the debt-ratio 0.3. 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. For example, a debt ratio of 40% might be higher for one industry, whereas normal 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. Equity owners can keep excess profit, generated from the debt capital, when companies use the debt capital for its business operations.