A Peek Into Bristol-Myers Squibb's Debt

Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY rose by 0.41% in the past three months. Before having a look at the importance of debt, let us look at how much debt Bristol-Myers Squibb has.

Bristol-Myers Squibb's Debt

According to the Bristol-Myers Squibb’s most recent financial statement as reported on August 6, 2020, total debt is at $46.67 billion, with $41.85 billion in long-term debt and $4.82 billion in current debt. Adjusting for $19.93 billion in cash-equivalents, the company has a net debt of $26.74 billion.

Shareholders look at the debt-ratio to understand how much financial leverage a company has. Bristol-Myers Squibb has $128.08 billion in total assets, therefore making the debt-ratio 0.36. Generally speaking, a debt-ratio more than one means that a large portion of debt is funded by assets. As the debt-ratio increases, so the does the risk of defaulting on loans, if interest rates were to increase. Different industries have different thresholds of tolerance for debt-ratios. A debt ratio of 25% might be higher for one industry and normal for another.

Importance Of 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.