How Does AES Debt Look Like?

Shares of AES Inc. AES moved higher by 6.36% in the past three months. Before we understand how much debt AES has, let’s look at the importance of debt.

AES's Debt

According to the AES’s most recent financial statement as reported on May 7, 2020, total debt is at $21.34 billion, with $18.87 billion in long-term debt and $2.47 billion in current debt. Adjusting for $1.54 billion in cash-equivalents, the company has a net debt of $19.79 billion.

Shareholders look at the debt-ratio to understand how much financial leverage a company has. AES has $34.14 billion in total assets, therefore making the debt-ratio 0.62. 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 35% might be higher for one industry, whereas normal for another.

Why Shareholders Look At Debt?

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.

However, interest-payment obligations can have an adverse impact on 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.