What do lenders consider a good debt-to-income ratio? A general rule of thumb is to keep your overall debt-to-income ratio at or below 43%.
In an ideal world, a company would have a debt ratio of 0.5, or 50%. This would mean that the company was funded equally by debt and equity funding. If this company were to decide to seek additional funding for a project from a bank, the bank would look favorably on this debt ratio.
In this case, the Debt-to-Assets ratio is 0.5, indicating that 50% of the company's assets are financed by debt. The Debt-to-Assets ratio provides insights into the company's leverage and financial risk.
A company's debt ratio can be calculated by dividing total debt by total assets. A debt ratio of greater than 1.0 or 100% means a company has more debt than assets while a debt ratio of less than 100% indicates that a company has more assets than debt.
50% or more: Take Action - You may have limited funds to save or spend. With more than half your income going toward debt payments, you may not have much money left to save, spend, or handle unforeseen expenses. With this DTI ratio, lenders may limit your borrowing options.
Debt-to-income ratio targets
Generally speaking, a good debt-to-income ratio is anything less than or equal to 36%. Meanwhile, any ratio above 43% is considered too high.
A good debt to equity ratio is typically less than 1. Example: $100,000 debt / $200,000 assets = 0.5 or 50%. Lower percentages indicate better financial health. Conversely, $200,000 debt / $100,000 equity = 2 or 200%, suggesting higher risk.
A common benchmark for a good debt-to-asset ratio is 30% (or 0.3), according to Michigan State University professor Adam Kantrovich. Going above this threshold can limit your ability to borrow more money when needed.
Generally, a good debt ratio for a business is around 1 to 1.5. However, the debt-to-equity ratio can vary significantly based on the business's growth stage and industry sector. For example, newer and expanding companies often utilise debt to drive growth.
The bad debt ratio measures the amount of money a company has to write off as a bad debt expense compared to its net sales. In other words, it tells you what percentage of sales profit a company loses to unpaid invoices.
If you have a DTI ratio between 36% and 49%, this means that while the current amount of debt you have is likely manageable, it may be a good idea to pay off your debt. While lenders may be willing to offer you credit, a DTI ratio above 43% may deter some lenders.
Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) is capped at 55% of your monthly income. For example, if your monthly income is $4,500, your maximum monthly repayment is $2,475 (55% x $4,500). If you have additional loan repayments (car loan, personal loan, credit cards), it will all be counted in the $2,475.
How much debt should a small business have? As a general rule, you shouldn't have more than 30% of your business capital in credit debt; exceeding this percentage tells lenders you may be not profitable or responsible with your money.
Debt-to-Equity Ratio
A higher ratio indicates a greater reliance on debt and higher potential financial risk. A healthy debt-to-equity ratio varies across industries, but as a general rule of thumb, a ratio above 2:1 is considered excessive debt.
Did you always think you'd be debt free by your 50s? Are you surprised that you're not? You're not alone. According to the federal government's Survey of Consumer Finances, in 2019, median debt among Americans ages 45 and older ranged from $108,000 for those 45–54, to $29,000 for those 70 and up.
Total Liabilities ÷ Total Assets
Signal: Under . 5 or 50% is better; over 1.0 or 100% would indicate that liabilities exceed assets, which is not desirable; upward trend may be cause for concern. Calculation: Total liabilities may also be divided by total income or total capital for a different emphasis.
Apple's operated at median total debt / total assets of 37.6% from fiscal years ending September 2020 to 2024. Looking back at the last 5 years, Apple's total debt / total assets peaked in September 2021 at 38.9%. Apple's total debt / total assets hit its 5-year low in September 2024 of 32.6%.
Therefore, the only way to improve your debt ratio is to either reduce your housing expenses, increase your income, reduce your debts, or a combination of these 3 factors. It may be difficult to reduce the cost of rent or mortgage and/or increase your income in the short term.
Google (GOOGL) Debt-to-Equity : 0.09 (As of Sep. 2024)
Amazon debt/equity ratio for the quarter ending September 30, 2024 was 0.21. Amazon average debt/equity ratio for 2023 was 0.36, a 14.29% decline from 2022. Amazon average debt/equity ratio for 2022 was 0.42, a 10.53% decline from 2021. Amazon average debt/equity ratio for 2021 was 0.38, a 2.56% increase from 2020.
Interpreting the Debt Ratio
If the ratio is over 1, a company has more debt than assets. If the ratio is below 1, the company has more assets than debt. Broadly speaking, ratios of 60% (0.6) or more are considered high, while ratios of 40% (0.4) or less are considered low.
According to Experian, average total consumer household debt in 2023 is $104,215. That's up 11% from 2020, when average total consumer debt was $92,727.
The bad debt rate must remain permanently below 1%, ideally below 0.2%, although the definition of an acceptable rate depends on a company's profitability, industry and type of customer base. Otherwise, you must make significant progress in securing your business and in trade receivable collection management processes.
A high debt-to-equity ratio comes with high risk. If the ratio is high, it means that the company is lending capital from others to finance its growth. As a result, lenders and Investors often lean towards the company which has a lower debt-to-equity ratio.