Measure Long-Term Debt to Equity Ratio for Smarter Analysis
The hf_Long-term_debt_to_equity_ratio function provides a quick way to measure a company’s financial leverage by comparing its long-term debt to total shareholders’ equity. In Excel, this helps investors and analysts spot companies whose balance sheets might be more leveraged and therefore riskier. With MarketXLS, you can retrieve the most up-to-date fundamental data directly in your workbook, paving the way for faster, data-centric decisions.
Why Use This Function?
- Quickly assess financial leverage: Understand how much of a company’s operations are financed by debt.
- Identify risk levels: Higher ratios can indicate greater risk, impacting investment decisions and portfolio strategies.
- Automate data retrieval: No need to manually gather fundamental data; MarketXLS integrates seamlessly with Excel.
- Compare multiple stocks: Build comparative models for different companies and time periods in a single spreadsheet.
- Combine with other analytics: Use the ratio alongside revenue, net income, or other functions to enrich your financial analysis.
How to Use in Excel
Simply enter the function in any cell, specifying the stock symbol, the desired year, and optional quarter or TTM period. For example:
=hf_Long-term_debt_to_equity_ratio(Symbol, Year, [Quarter], [TTM])• Symbol is the ticker (e.g., "AAPL") for which you want to retrieve the data.
• Year can be an actual year (e.g., 2022) or a shortcut for relative periods (e.g., "LY" for last year, "LQ" for last quarter).
• Quarter defaults to 1. You can specify 2, 3, or 4 to retrieve different quarters of the specified year, if quarterly data is available.
• TTM can be left blank or set to "T" to request trailing twelve months data for more continuous tracking.
Parameters Explained
| Parameter | Description | Example Values | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | The ticker symbol for the security | "AAPL", "MSFT" | Must be a valid US equity symbol (or other supported markets). |
| Year | The fiscal year or relative keyword for retrieving data | 2022, "LY", "LQ", "LT", "LQ-1" | "LY" = last year, "LQ" = last quarter, "LT" or using TTM = trailing 12 months, plus optional offsets like "-1". |
| Quarter | The quarter of the fiscal year to retrieve (optional) | 1, 2, 3, 4 | Defaults to 1 if omitted. Only used if you want specific quarterly data. |
| TTM | Pass "T" for trailing twelve months data (optional) | "T" or "" | Leave blank if not needed; function defaults to annual or quarterly data based on other inputs. |
Example Usage
Basic Examples
-
Retrieve the long-term debt to equity ratio for Apple in fiscal year 2022 (default Q1):
=hf_Long-term_debt_to_equity_ratio("AAPL", 2022) -
Fetch Q4 long-term debt to equity ratio for Microsoft in 2021:
=hf_Long-term_debt_to_equity_ratio("MSFT", 2021, 4) -
View trailing 12-month data for Tesla:
=hf_Long-term_debt_to_equity_ratio("TSLA", 2023, 1, "T")
Advanced Scenarios
-
Last Quarter Shortcut: Automatically get the most recent quarter’s data for Google by using "LQ":
=hf_Long-term_debt_to_equity_ratio("GOOG", "LQ") -
Offsetting the Last Quarter by One: Retrieve data for the quarter before last by adding “-1”:
=hf_Long-term_debt_to_equity_ratio("AMZN", "LQ-1") -
Combining with Other Excel Functions: Use IF statements to highlight companies with a ratio above a certain threshold. For example, in cell B1 you might have:
=IF(hf_Long-term_debt_to_equity_ratio("AAPL", 2022, 4)>2,"High Debt","Moderate/Low Debt") -
Building Comparative Models: In one worksheet, list different symbols in column A, and in an adjacent column use hf_Long-term_debt_to_equity_ratio with references to compare multiple companies at once.
Common Questions and Troubleshooting
• Why am I getting "NA"?
- The data may be unavailable for that stock, or your subscription plan may not cover this data. Check the symbol and parameters or consider upgrading your plan if needed.
• Can I use a different quarter from the current fiscal year?
- Yes. Simply update the quarter argument (e.g., 2, 3, or 4) to retrieve data for that specific quarter.
• How do I retrieve TTM data properly?
- Set the TTM parameter to "T". Ensure you’re referencing a valid and recent period or you may see "NA" if data is insufficient.
• What if I want the data from multiple quarters ago?
- Use a combination like "LQ-2" to go two quarters back from the most recently available quarter, automatically adjusting the date range for you.
With hf_Long-term_debt_to_equity_ratio, you gain a streamlined process for analyzing how a company manages its debt burden relative to equity—an essential component of investment evaluation and risk assessment. By utilizing MarketXLS in Excel, you’ll bring real-time data directly to your workflow, enabling more confident, data-driven decisions.
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