What does debt-to-equity mean?

How much debt the company carries for every dollar of shareholder equity.

How do you interpret debt-to-equity?

Lower is generally safer, but moderate leverage can boost returns. Read in the context of cash-flow stability — a utility tolerates more debt than a cyclical. Negative equity makes the ratio meaningless and it is suppressed there.

How does debt-to-equity compare across companies?

Comparable within an industry; capital structures differ sharply across sectors. Not meaningful for banks.

McKesson MCK Debt-to-equity

Discontinued — last reported Q2 '21

Debt-to-equity at other companies

Eli LillyLLY

1.4×-1.1×

CencoraCOR

3.6×-3.4×

ViatrisVTRS

1×+0.1×

Medline, Inc. MDLN

1.1×—

Becton, Dickinson and CompanyBDX

0.6×-0.1×

CVS HealthCVS

0.2×0.0×

Other financials

Income statement

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Revenue$96.3B+6.0%

Gross profit$4.0B+11.1%

Operating income$2.2B+35.1%

Net income$1.7B+33.5%

EPS (diluted)$13.65+37.6%

Balance sheet

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Cash & equivalents$4.0B-33.3%

Total debt$2.3B-74.2%

Total equity-$2.2B-4.7%

Total assets$82.3B+9.6%

Cash flow

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Operating cash flow$3.4B-55.9%

CapEx$111.0M-34.3%

Free cash flow$3.3B-56.3%

Valuation

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Market cap$91.3B+25.7%

Enterprise value$89.6B+19.6%

P/E19.2×-2.9×

P/S0.2×0.0×

Profitability

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Gross margin3.6%-0.1pp

Operating margin1.5%+0.3pp

Net margin1.2%+0.3pp

Returns & leverage

See full

Return on equity36%—

Current ratio0.9×0.0×

Where this comes from

Calculated from McKesson’s reported figures.

total debt/total stockholders equity=2×

Based on the most recent quarter.

The official record: McKesson’s 10-Q, filed November 2, 2021, on SEC EDGAR. View the filing →

Questions, answered.

What does debt-to-equity mean?: How much debt the company carries for every dollar of shareholder equity.
How do you interpret debt-to-equity?: Lower is generally safer, but moderate leverage can boost returns. Read in the context of cash-flow stability — a utility tolerates more debt than a cyclical. Negative equity makes the ratio meaningless and it is suppressed there.
How does debt-to-equity compare across companies?: Comparable within an industry; capital structures differ sharply across sectors. Not meaningful for banks.