What Does Colgate-Palmolive's Debt Look Like?

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive CL rose by 8.46% in the past three months. Before having a look at the importance of debt, let us look at how much debt Colgate-Palmolive has.

Colgate-Palmolive's Debt

According to the Colgate-Palmolive’s most recent financial statement as reported on October 30, 2020, total debt is at $7.24 billion, with $6.97 billion in long-term debt and $265.00 million in current debt. Adjusting for $989.00 million in cash-equivalents, the company has a net debt of $6.25 billion.

Let's define some of the terms we used in the paragraph above. Current debt is the portion of a company's debt which is due within 1 year, while long-term debt is the portion due in more than 1 year. Cash equivalents include cash and any liquid securities with maturity periods of 90 days or less. Total debt equals current debt plus long-term debt minus cash equivalents.

To understand the degree of financial leverage a company has, investors look at the debt ratio. Considering Colgate-Palmolive’s $15.47 billion in total assets, the debt-ratio is at 0.47. As a rule of thumb, a debt-ratio more than one 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 and average for another.

Why Investors 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.

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.

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