Jack In The Box's Debt Overview

Over the past three months, shares of Jack In The Box's Inc. JACK moved lower by 16.36%. Before we understand the importance of debt, let's look at how much debt Jack In The Box's has.

Jack In The Box's Debt

According to the Jack In The Box's's most recent financial statement as reported on August 10, 2022, total debt is at $1.84 billion, with $1.81 billion in long-term debt and $30.20 million in current debt. Adjusting for $65.86 million in cash-equivalents, the company has a net debt of $1.77 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 includes 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.

Investors look at the debt-ratio to understand how much financial leverage a company has. Jack In The Box's has $2.86 billion in total assets, therefore making the debt-ratio 0.64. 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 40% might be higher for one industry, but average for another.

Why Investors Look At Debt?

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.

Looking for stocks with low debt-to-equity ratios? Check out Benzinga Pro, a market research platform which provides investors with near-instantaneous access to dozens of stock metrics - including debt-to-equity ratio. Click here to learn more.

This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.