A Look Into Nasdaq's Debt

Over the past three months, shares of Nasdaq Inc. NDAQ moved higher by 10.20%. Before having a look at the importance of debt, let's look at how much debt Nasdaq has.

Nasdaq Debt

Based on Nasdaq's balance sheet as of November 2, 2022, long-term debt is at $4.57 billion and current debt is at $861.00 million, amounting to $5.43 billion in total debt. Adjusted for $301.00 million in cash-equivalents, the company's net debt is at $5.13 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.

Shareholders look at the debt-ratio to understand how much financial leverage a company has. Nasdaq has $22.94 billion in total assets, therefore making the debt-ratio 0.24. 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.

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.

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.

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