What does interest coverage mean?

How many times the company's operating profit covers its interest bill.

How do you interpret interest coverage?

Higher is safer; below ~2× is a warning that earnings provide little cushion against the debt burden. Debt-free companies have no interest expense and the ratio is left blank.

How does interest coverage compare across companies?

Comparable across leveraged non-financials; less relevant for net-cash companies with negligible interest.

First Citizens BancShares FCNCA Interest coverage

Interest coverage at other companies

Citizens Financial GroupCFG

1.7×+0.2×

JPMorgan ChaseJPM

1.8×0.0×

Bank of AmericaBAC

1.5×+0.1×

Wells Fargo & CompanyWFC

1.6×+0.1×

Truist FinancialTFC

1.7×—

Huntington BancsharesHBAN

1.6×0.0×

Other financials

Income statement

See full

Revenue$2.3B+0.7%

Net income$534.0M+10.6%

EPS (diluted)$42.63+23.7%

Balance sheet

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Cash & equivalents$1.1B+33.0%

Total debt$34.5B-12.0%

Total equity$22.0B-1.1%

Total assets$235.96B+3.1%

Cash flow

See full

Operating cash flow$172.0M+75.5%

CapEx$141.0M+36.9%

Free cash flow$31.0M+720%

Valuation

See full

Market cap$24.21B-11.1%

Enterprise value$57.66B-12.2%

P/E10.7×0.0×

P/S2.5×-0.3×

Profitability

See full

Net margin23.6%-2.7pp

Returns & leverage

See full

Return on equity10.2%-1.3pp

Debt / equity1.6×-0.2×

Questions, answered.

What does interest coverage mean?: How many times the company's operating profit covers its interest bill.
How do you interpret interest coverage?: Higher is safer; below ~2× is a warning that earnings provide little cushion against the debt burden. Debt-free companies have no interest expense and the ratio is left blank.
How does interest coverage compare across companies?: Comparable across leveraged non-financials; less relevant for net-cash companies with negligible interest.