毕业设计（论文）报告纸
Evaluating A Company's Capital Structure
For stock investors that favor companies with good fundamentals, a \"strong\" balance sheet is an important consideration for investing in a company's stock. The strength of a company' balance sheet can be evaluated by three broad categories of investment-quality measurements: working capital adequacy, asset performance and capital structure. In this article, we'll look at evaluating balance sheet strength based on the composition of a company's capital structure.
A company's capitalization (not to be confused with market capitalization) describes the composition of a company's permanent or long-term capital, which consists of a combination of debt and equity. A healthy proportion of equity capital, as opposed to debt capital, in a company's capital structure is an indication of financial fitness.
Clarifying Capital Structure Related Terminology
The equity part of the debt-equity relationship is the easiest to define. In a company's capital structure, equity consists of a company's common and preferred stock plus retained earnings, which are summed up in the shareholders' equity account on a balance sheet. This invested capital and debt, generally of the long-term variety, comprises a company's capitalization, i.e. a permanent type of funding to support a company's growth and related assets.
A discussion of debt is less straightforward. Investment literature often equates a company's debt with its liabilities. Investors should understand that there is a difference between operational and debt liabilities - it is the latter that forms the debt component of a company's capitalization - but that's not the end of the debt story.
Among financial analysts and investment research services, there is no universal agreement as to what constitutes a debt liability. For many analysts, the debt component in a company's capitalization is simply a balance sheet's long-term debt. This definition is too simplistic. Investors should stick to a stricter interpretation of debt where the debt component of a company's capitalization should consist of the following: short-term borrowings (notes payable), the current portion of long-term debt, long-term debt, two-thirds (rule of thumb) of the principal amount of operating leases and redeemable preferred stock. Using a comprehensive total debt figure is a prudent analytical tool for stock investors.
It's worth noting here that both international and U.S. financial accounting standards boards are proposing rule changes that would treat operating leases and pension \"projected-benefits\" as balance sheet liabilities. The new proposed rules certainly alert investors to the true nature of these off-balance sheet obligations that have all the earmarks of debt. (To read more on liabilities, see Off-Balance-Sheet Entities: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly and Uncovering Hidden Debt.)
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毕业设计（论文）报告纸
Is there an optimal debt-equity relationship?
In financial terms, debt is a good example of the proverbial two-edged sword. Astute use of leverage (debt) increases the amount of financial resources available to a company for growth and expansion. The assumption is that management can earn more on borrowed funds than it pays in interest expense and fees on these funds. However, as successful as this formula may seem, it does require that a company maintain a solid record of complying with its various borrowing commitments. (For more stories on company debt loads, see When Companies Borrow Money, Spotting Disaster and Don't Get Burned by the Burn Rate.)
A company considered too highly leveraged (too much debt versus equity) may find its freedom of action restricted by its creditors and/or may have its profitability hurt as a result of paying high interest costs. Of course, the worst-case scenario would be having trouble meeting operating and debt liabilities during periods of adverse economic conditions. Lastly, a company in a highly competitive business, if hobbled by high debt, may find its competitors taking advantage of its problems to grab more market share.
Unfortunately, there is no magic proportion of debt that a company can take on. The debt-equity relationship varies according to industries involved, a company's line of business and its stage of development. However, because investors are better off putting their money into companies with strong balance sheets, common sense tells us that these companies should have, generally speaking, lower debt and higher equity levels.
Capital Ratios and Indicators
In general, analysts use three different ratios to assess the financial strength of a company's capitalization structure. The first two, the so-called debt and debt/equity ratios, are popular measurements; however, it's the capitalization ratio that delivers the key insights to evaluating a company's capital position.
The debt ratio compares total liabilities to total assets. Obviously, more of the former means less equity and, therefore, indicates a more leveraged position. The problem with this measurement is that it is too broad in scope, which, as a consequence, gives equal weight to operational and debt liabilities. The same criticism can be applied to the debt/equity ratio, which compares total liabilities to total shareholders' equity. Current and non-current operational liabilities, particularly the latter, represent obligations that will be with the company forever. Also, unlike debt, there are no fixed payments of principal or interest attached to operational liabilities.
The capitalization ratio (total debt/total capitalization) compares the debt component of a company's capital structure (the sum of obligations categorized as debt + total shareholders' equity) to the equity component. Expressed as a percentage, a low number is indicative of a healthy equity cushion, which is always more desirable than a high
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毕业设计（论文）报告纸
percentage of debt. (To continue reading about ratios, see Debt Reckoning.)
Additional Evaluative Debt-Equity Considerations
Companies in an aggressive acquisition mode can rack up a large amount of purchased goodwill in their balance sheets. Investors need to be alert to the impact of intangibles on the equity component of a company's capitalization. A material amount of intangible assets need to be considered carefully for its potential negative effect as a deduction (or impairment) of equity, which, as a consequence, will adversely affect the capitalization ratio. (For more insight, read Can You Count On Goodwill? and The Hidden Value Of Intangibles.)
Funded debt is the technical term applied to the portion of a company's long-term debt that is made up of bonds and other similar long-term, fixed-maturity types of borrowings. No matter how problematic a company's financial condition may be, the holders of these obligations cannot demand payment as long the company pays the interest on its funded debt. In contrast, bank debt is usually subject to acceleration clauses and/or covenants that allow the lender to call its loan. From the investor's perspective, the greater the percentage of funded debt to total debt disclosed in the debt note in the notes to financial statements, the better. Funded debt gives a company more wiggle room. (To read more on financial statement footnotes, see Footnotes: Start Reading The Fine Print.)
Lastly, credit ratings are formal risk evaluations by credit-rating agencies - Moody's, Standard & Poor's, Duff & Phelps and Fitch – of a company's ability to repay principal and interest on debt obligations, principally bonds and commercial paper. Here again, this information should appear in the footnotes. Obviously, investors should be glad to see high-quality rankings on the debt of companies they are considering as investment opportunities and be wary of the reverse.
Conclusion
A company's reasonable, proportional use of debt and equity to support its assets is a key indicator of balance sheet strength. A healthy capital structure that reflects a low level of debt and a corresponding high level of equity is a very positive sign of investment quality.
To continue learning about financial statements, read What You Need To Know About Financial Statements and Advanced Financial Statement Analysis.
一个公司的资本结构评价
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对于股票投资者来说，具有良好的基本面支持的公司，一个好的资产负债表是对投资一家公司的股票的一个重要的考虑因素。一个公司的资产负债表的强度可以通过投资质量测量三大类：工作评估资本充足率，资产经营绩效与资本结构。在这篇文章中，我们将看看对企业资本结构的组成的基础上，评估资产负债表实力。
一个公司的股本（不与资本市场混淆）描述了一个公司的永久或长期资本的构成，其中包括债务和股权的组合。一个健康的权益资本和债务资本比例，是一个公司的资本结构财务健康的指示。
明确了资本结构的相关术语：债务权益关系的股权部分是最简单的定义。在一个公司的资本结构，股权是一个公司的普通股和优先股和留存收益，这归结于资产负债表股东权益账户。投资资本和债务是在一般的长期变化下，包括公司的股本，即资金来支持公司的发展一个永久的类型和相关的资产。
讨论债务是不是那么简单，在文献中投资往往等同于一个公司的债务与责任。投资者应了解，运作企业和债务之间的差别是形成一个公司的股本的债务部分但这不是债务的结束后的最终部分。
金融分析师和投资服务的研究中，对于债务责任是什么没有一个统一的定义。许多分析师认为在公司的资本债务部分是一个简单的资产负债表上的长期债务。这个定义是太简单了。投资者应坚持严格的解释公司债务的资本债务部分定义应包括以下内容：短期借款（票据），长期债务，长期债务的当期部分，三分之二（经验法则）的经营租赁和可赎回优先股本金。使用一个全面的总债务是股票投资者的谨慎的分析工具。
值得注意的是，国际和美国财务会计准则委员会提出规则的改变，会对经营租赁和养老金的预期效益作为资产负债表负债。新提出的规则也提醒投资者真正性质的资产负债表债务，债务的所有特点。
一个最佳的债务权益有关系吗？
在财政方面，债务是众所周知的双刃剑的一个很好的例子。精明的使用杠杆（债务）增加提供给公司的成长和扩张的金融资源量（假设管理者能赚来的资金比它支付利息费用和对这些基金的费用要多）。然而，要让它成为可能，这也要求一个公司保持遵守各种贷款承诺的良好记录。
公司认为太高的杠杆（太多的债务与股本）可能会让它的债权人限制它的经营行动自由以免为它的高利息费用的而产生伤害。当然，最坏的情况是在不利的经济条件困难时期公司运作会有很多困难。最后，在一个高度竞争的商业公司，如果高债务让它步履蹒跚，那么它可能会发现它的竞争对手会利用它的高债务问题抢占更多市场份额。
不幸的是，没有公司可以采取的最好的债务比例。债务股权关系根据行业与公司
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的业务和发展阶段不同而不同。然而，由于投资者把他们的钱投入强大的资产负债表的公司，常识告诉我们，这些企业应该有，一般来说，较低的债务水平，较高的股票价值。
资本比率和指标：在一般情况下，分析师使用三个不同的比率来评估一个公司的资本结构的财务实力。第一，所谓的债务和债务/股本比率，是流行的测量方式，它的资本比率为评估一家公司的资本状况提供了重要见解。
负债率比较总负债与总资产。很显然，前者意味着更少的股权，因此，表示为更杠杆的位置。这种测量的问题是，它的范围过于宽泛，作为一个结果，给出了相同的权重运营和债务负债。同样的缺点可以应用债务/股本比率，，比较总负债占股东权益总额。流动及非流动负债经营，尤其是后者，是公司永远的债务义务。此外，不同于债务，没有固定经营负债的本金或利息付款。
资本的比率（总负债/总资本）比较公司的资本结构（分类为债务的义务的总和+股东权益总额）与权益部分的债务部分。以百分比表示，低的数字是表示健康权益坐垫，这始终比一个高比例的债务更可取。
附加的评价债务权益的注意事项：公司在积极的收购模式可以架入大量的购入商誉在其资产负债表。投资者需要警惕无形的影响一个公司的资本权益部分。无形资产的材料量需要仔细考虑其潜在的负面影响作为扣减（或减值）的股本，其中，作为一个结果，会影响资本的比例。
自建债务是公司的长期债务，是由长期、固定到期日的债券和其他类似类型的借款部分构成的技术术语。不管一家公司的财务状况可能会受到如何的问题，对这些义务的持有人不能要求支付，只要公司支付的利息资助债务。相比之下，银行债务通常是加速条款或容许贷款人打电话给其贷款契约。从投资者的角度来看，更大的自建的债务占总债务的百分比披露在财务报表附注中的债务票据中更好。自建债务，使公司得到了更多的回旋余地。
最后，信用评级是信用评级机构（穆迪，标普，达夫和菲尔普斯和惠誉）评估一个公司偿还本金和利息的债务的能力，主要是债券和商业票据的正式的风险评估。在这里，这个信息应该出现在脚注。显然，投资者应该高兴地看到，他们正在考虑有投资机会的公司的债务并且把它当做投资的保留意见。
结论：公司的债务和股权的合理比例的使用，是资产负债表实力的关键指标。一个健康的资本结构，能够积极的反映较低的债务水平和相应的高水平的权益投资。
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