Total debt is the money a company has borrowed and must repay: bonds, notes, loans and commercial paper.
Formula
total debt = long-term debt + current portion of long-term debt + short-term borrowings
Each part is as reported on the balance sheet date:
- long-term debt: borrowings due after the next twelve months (
LongTermDebtNoncurrent); - current portion: the part of long-term debt due within twelve months (
LongTermDebtCurrent); - short-term borrowings: debt that was short-term from the start, such as credit lines and commercial paper (
ShortTermBorrowings).
Where a company does not report one of the parts, that part is left out of the sum and the figure's note lists the parts that went in. If the company reports none of them, total debt is "not reported": Listed does not assume a company with no debt lines has no debt.
What it leaves out
- Lease liabilities, unless the company reports them inside its debt lines.
- Pension obligations, accounts payable and other liabilities that are not borrowings.
Analysts often add leases to debt. Listed does not, so its figure can be lower than one that does.
Reading it
Look at when the debt is due, not just how much there is. The debt note in the financial statements gives the maturities year by year.