Benzinga | Aug 17, 2021 10:02AM EDT

What Does Stanley Black & Decker's Debt Look Like?



Over the past three months, shares of Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK) moved lower by 5.53%. Before we understand the importance of debt, let us look at how much debt Stanley Black & Decker has.

Stanley Black & Decker's Debt

According to the Stanley Black & Decker's most recent financial statement as reported on July 27, 2021, total debt is at $4.25 billion, with $4.25 billion in long-term debt and $2.60 million in current debt. Adjusting for $440.40 million in cash-equivalents, the company has a net debt of $3.81 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, shareholders look at the debt ratio. Considering Stanley Black & Decker's $23.96 billion in total assets, the debt-ratio is at 0.18. 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 25% might be higher for one industry and average for another.

Why Shareholders 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. 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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