Benzinga | Aug 7, 2020 09:36AM EDT

How Does Teradata's Debt Look?

Shares of Teradata Inc. (NYSE:TDC) increased by 10.76% in the past three months. Before we understand the importance of debt, let's look at how much debt Teradata has.

Teradata's Debt

Based on Teradata's balance sheet as of May 11, 2020, long-term debt is at $523.00 million and current debt is at $85.00 million, amounting to $608.00 million in total debt. Adjusted for $394.00 million in cash-equivalents, the company's net debt is at $214.00 million.

Investors look at the debt-ratio to understand how much financial leverage a company has. Teradata has $2.15 billion in total assets, therefore making the debt-ratio 0.28. 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. A debt ratio of 25% might be higher for one industry, whereas 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.

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.