What Does MercadoLibre's Debt Look Like?

Over the past three months, shares of MercadoLibre Inc. MELI fell by 2.75%. When understanding a companies price change over a time period like 3 months, it could be helpful to look at its financials. One key aspect of a companies financials is its debt, but before we understand the importance of debt, let's look at how much debt MercadoLibre has.

MercadoLibre Debt

Based on MercadoLibre's balance sheet as of May 4, 2023, long-term debt is at $2.50 billion and current debt is at $2.33 billion, amounting to $4.83 billion in total debt. Adjusted for $2.14 billion in cash-equivalents, the company's net debt is at $2.69 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. MercadoLibre has $14.20 billion in total assets, therefore making the debt-ratio 0.34. Generally speaking, a debt-ratio more than 1 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. For example, a debt ratio of 40% might be higher for one industry, but 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. 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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This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.