Agilent's Debt Overview

Shares of Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) rose by 14.74% in the past three months. Before having a look at the importance of debt, let's look at how much debt Agilent Technologies has.

Agilent Technologies's Debt

Based on Agilent Technologies’s financial statement as of June 1, 2020, long-term debt is at $1.79 billion and current debt is at $700.00 million, amounting to $2.49 billion in total debt. Adjusted for $1.32 billion in cash-equivalents, the company's net debt is at $1.16 billion.

Investors look at the debt-ratio to understand how much financial leverage a company has. Agilent Technologies has $9.46 billion in total assets, therefore making the debt-ratio 0.26. 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 35% might be higher for one industry, whereas average for another.

Why Debt Is Important

Besides equity, debt is an important factor in the capital structure of a company, and contributes to its growth. Due to its lower financing cost compared to equity, it becomes an attractive option for executives trying to raise capital.

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.