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.

Progressive PGR Interest coverage

Interest coverage at other companies

Cincinnati FinancialCINF

65.8×+31.3×

The Travelers CompaniesTRV

22.4×+7.9×

The Hartford Financial Services GroupHIG

26.3×+6.6×

AllstateALL

34×+18.6×

Berkshire HathawayBRK.B

18.5×-1.9×

ChubbCB

19.4×+4.3×

Other financials

Income statement

See full

Revenue$22.2B+8.7%

Net income$2.8B+9.8%

EPS (diluted)$4.80+9.8%

Balance sheet

See full

Cash & equivalents$162.0M-16.9%

Total debt$8.4B+21.6%

Total equity$32.0B+10.7%

Total assets$122.21B+9.7%

Cash flow

See full

Operating cash flow$4.4B-15.1%

CapEx$63.0M+6.8%

Free cash flow$4.3B-15.3%

Valuation

See full

Market cap$119.01B-30.1%

Enterprise value$127.24B-28.1%

P/E10.3×-9.2×

P/S1.3×-0.8×

Profitability

See full

Net margin12.9%+1.8pp

Returns & leverage

See full

Return on equity37.9%+3.6pp

Debt / equity0.3×0.0×

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.