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Debt-to-EBITDA History Chart

Chart any stock's 10-year Debt-to-EBITDA leverage in one view, with color-coded risk zones, a Net Debt/EBITDA overlay, and a Conservative/Moderate/Elevated/Distressed verdict. Auto-populates from Yahoo Finance. Pair it with the debt-to-equity history chart and the net debt history chart.

By Basis Report Editorial DeskReviewed by Basis Report Methodology TeamMethodology

How to Read the Debt-to-EBITDA Trend

Debt-to-EBITDA is the single most-used leverage ratio in credit analysis. It divides a company's total debt by its EBITDA — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization — to answer one question: how many years of operating cash earnings would it take to repay the debt? A ratio of 2× means roughly two years; 6× means the debt dwarfs annual earnings. Bond covenants, bank loans, and rating agencies almost all anchor to this number.

The bars on this chart are colored by leverage zone — green under 1×, yellow from 1–3×, orange from 3–5×, and red above 5×. What matters most is the trajectory: a company climbing from 1.5× to 4× is taking on risk even if 4× is survivable, while one grinding down from 5× to 2× is deleveraging and derisking. The overlaid Net Debt/EBITDA line nets out cash on the balance sheet, giving the truer picture for cash-rich companies — a business with $30B of debt and $25B of cash is far less levered than its gross ratio suggests.

Context matters by sector: utilities and real estate routinely carry 4–6× against stable, regulated cash flows, while asset-light software firms rarely exceed 1×. Negative-EBITDA years cannot produce a meaningful ratio and are shown as gaps. Pair this chart with the debt-to-equity history chart for a book-value view of leverage, and the interest coverage calculator to see whether earnings comfortably cover the interest bill.

Related Tools

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Debt-to-EBITDA history chart show?

It plots up to 10 fiscal years of a company's gross Debt/EBITDA ratio as colored bars, with Net Debt/EBITDA (total debt minus cash) overlaid as a line. Together they reveal how many years of operating cash earnings it would take to repay borrowings, and whether that leverage is building or being paid down over time.

What do the bar colors mean?

Bars are colored by leverage zone. Green means Debt/EBITDA is under 1× (conservative). Yellow is 1–3× (moderate — the comfortable range for most investment-grade companies). Orange is 3–5× (elevated — common after a large acquisition or in capital-intensive sectors). Red is above 5× (distressed — a level that strains interest coverage and refinancing).

What is the Conservative / Moderate / Elevated / Distressed verdict?

The verdict reflects the most recent fiscal year's gross Debt/EBITDA ratio against the same zone thresholds used for the bars: under 1× is Conservative, 1–3× is Moderate, 3–5× is Elevated, and 5× or higher is Distressed. It gives a one-glance read on how levered the balance sheet is right now.

Why use Debt-to-EBITDA instead of Debt-to-Equity?

Debt-to-EBITDA measures leverage against cash-generating ability rather than book equity, so it answers the lender's question directly: how many years of earnings would it take to repay the debt? It is the ratio most credit agreements, bond covenants, and rating agencies anchor to. Debt-to-Equity, by contrast, compares debt to accounting equity, which can be distorted by buybacks, write-downs, or intangibles. The two are complementary — pair this chart with the Debt-to-Equity history chart for the full leverage picture.

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