United Airlines: Debt Overview
Over the past three months, shares of United Airlines Holdings (NASDAQ:UAL) rose by 3.75%. Before having a look at the importance of debt, let us look at how much debt United Airlines Holdings has.
United Airlines Holdings's Debt
According to the United Airlines Holdings's most recent financial statement as reported on March 1, 2021, total debt is at $28.29 billion, with $26.20 billion in long-term debt and $2.09 billion in current debt. Adjusting for $11.27 billion in cash-equivalents, the company has a net debt of $17.02 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.
Shareholders look at the debt-ratio to understand how much financial leverage a company has. United Airlines Holdings has $59.55 billion in total assets, therefore making the debt-ratio 0.48. 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 35% might be higher for one industry and normal for another.
Why Debt Is Important
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.
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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