eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Debt to Equity

There is a general upward trend observed in the debt to equity ratio over the analyzed periods. Starting at 0.39 in the first quarter of 2015, the ratio fluctuates early on before increasing more consistently from 2017 onward. By the third quarter of 2019, it reaches 2.37, indicating a substantial increase in leverage relative to shareholders' equity. The inclusion of operating lease liabilities results in slightly higher ratios, particularly noticeable in the most recent quarters.

Debt to Capital

The debt to capital ratio follows a similar increasing pattern, beginning at 0.28 in early 2015. It peaks around 0.70 by the third quarter of 2019. The ratio slightly decreases towards the end of 2016 but then steadily rises again. When considering operating lease liabilities, the ratio is marginally higher, especially in the last few quarters, reflecting increased recognition of lease obligations.

Debt to Assets

This ratio shows moderate growth from 0.17 in early 2015 to an approximate level of 0.41 in late 2019. The metric experiences some volatility, with minor declines and plateaus, but maintains an overall upward direction. The version including operating lease liabilities exhibits similar behavior, with a slight increase relative to the standard metric in the latest periods.

Financial Leverage

Financial leverage demonstrates a marked upward trajectory throughout the timeframe. Starting near 2.3, it sees fluctuations initially but undergoes a sharp increase from 2017 onward, reaching 5.72 by the third quarter of 2019. This trend suggests a significant amplification of total assets in relation to equity, indicating greater use of debt financing over the years.

Overall Analysis

The financial ratios collectively depict a company increasingly reliant on debt financing across the observed periods. The notable rise in debt to equity and financial leverage ratios points to growing leverage risk. The presence of operating lease liabilities slightly elevates the leverage ratios, emphasizing the importance of considering lease obligations in the capital structure analysis. Stability in debt to assets suggests balanced asset financing despite rising debt levels. These trends warrant attention to the company’s risk profile and capacity to service its increased debt load in future periods.

Total Debt

The total debt exhibited fluctuations over the observed periods. Initially, the debt decreased steadily from US$7,663 million in March 2015 to US$6,779 million by December 2015. However, starting in March 2016, there was a marked increase in debt levels, reaching a peak of US$11,466 million in June 2017. Following this peak, total debt generally stabilized with some minor variations until a significant reduction occurred by September 2019, bringing the debt down to US$7,753 million.

Stockholders’ Equity

Stockholders’ equity showed a notable decline over time. Initially stable around US$19,000 million in early 2015, it sharply dropped to a range between approximately US$6,300 million and US$10,500 million throughout 2016 and 2017. From early 2018 onward, equity continued its downward trajectory, falling from US$7,596 million in June 2018 to US$3,270 million by September 2019, indicating a substantial erosion of shareholders' net assets during the period.

Debt to Equity Ratio

The debt to equity ratio reflected significant volatility aligned with the changes in debt and equity. Starting at a low ratio around 0.39 in March 2015, the ratio surged above 1.0 during late 2015 and remained elevated through 2016 and 2017 with values fluctuating approximately between 0.77 and 1.47. From early 2018, the ratio steadily increased reaching a peak of 2.37 by September 2019, which suggests a considerably higher leverage position and a rising reliance on debt relative to equity.

Overall Analysis

Over the observed quarterly periods, the company’s financial leverage intensified markedly. The initial period showed a reduction in debt and relatively high equity, contributing to a healthy leverage ratio. However, in subsequent years, the company increased its debt obligations substantially while equity eroded sharply. This trend resulted in escalating debt-to-equity ratios, reaching more than double in the final reported period compared to the start. The rising leverage could indicate increased financial risk and potential pressure on the company’s capital structure.

Total Debt (including operating lease liability)

The total debt demonstrates fluctuations over the examined periods. Initially, debt decreased from $7,663 million in March 2015 to a low of $6,779 million by December 2015. However, from March 2016 onwards, there was a general upward trend, peaking at $11,466 million in June 2017. Following this peak, the debt level exhibited slight volatility but mostly remained between $8,000 million and $10,000 million until September 2019, with a notable decrease to $8,250 million by the last reported period.

Stockholders’ Equity

Stockholders’ equity showed significant variation, starting at $19,538 million in March 2015, with a sharp decline to $6,492 million by September 2015. The equity then experienced some recovery, rising to $11,595 million by March 2017. Subsequently, equity declined steadily, reaching its lowest point of $3,270 million by September 2019. This trend indicates a substantial reduction in shareholder value over time, especially after 2017.

Debt to Equity Ratio (including operating lease liability)

The debt-to-equity ratio reveals a volatile and increasing debt burden relative to equity over the period analyzed. The ratio began at 0.39 in March 2015 and surged to a peak of 1.15 by September 2015, reflecting the concurrent decline in equity. From 2016 to early 2017, the ratio demonstrated fluctuations between approximately 0.77 and 1.43. Post-2017, there was a pronounced upward trajectory, with the ratio increasing consistently to reach 2.52 by September 2019. This indicates that total debt grew significantly in relation to shrinking equity, highlighting a substantial leverage increase.

Overall Observations

The analysis indicates that despite some intermittent recoveries, equity has generally declined, while total debt has increased or remained elevated. The rising debt-to-equity ratio points to an increased financial leverage and potentially higher financial risk. The notable decrease in equity combined with fluctuating but elevated debt levels suggests a shift towards greater reliance on debt financing, which could affect the company’s capital structure and risk profile going forward.

Total Debt

The total debt fluctuated over the observed periods with initial values around $7.6 billion in early 2015. A decline was observed towards the end of 2015, reaching a low of approximately $6.8 billion. Beginning in 2016, total debt increased, peaking at about $11.5 billion in mid-2017. Following this peak, debt levels gradually decreased, ending at roughly $7.8 billion in late 2019.

Total Capital

Total capital displayed significant variation throughout the timeline. It began at approximately $27.2 billion in early 2015, followed by a sharp drop in the third quarter of 2015 to around $13.9 billion. After this decline, capital generally increased, achieving a maximum near $22.9 billion in mid-2017. Subsequently, total capital trended downward, settling at about $11 billion by late 2019.

Debt to Capital Ratio

The debt to capital ratio exhibited considerable fluctuation, illustrating changes in the company's leverage. It commenced at 0.28 in early 2015, rose sharply to above 0.5 by late 2015, with values oscillating between 0.44 and 0.7 across the subsequent quarters. Notably, the ratio experienced a general upward trend from 2017 onward, culminating near 0.7 in late 2019, indicating an increased reliance on debt financing relative to total capital.

Summary of Trends

Overall, the data reflects periods of both deleveraging and increased indebtedness. The initial phase showed reduced debt levels and higher total capital, resulting in a lower leverage ratio. However, between 2016 and 2017, the company took on additional debt on a larger scale, pushing both total debt and the debt to capital ratio higher. Despite some subsequent reductions in debt and total capital, the leverage ratio increased towards the end of the period examined, implying the company's capital structure became more debt-intensive. This shift may suggest strategic financing changes or responses to market conditions, with potential impacts on financial risk and interest obligations.

The financial data reveals several notable trends in the company's debt and capital structure over the analyzed periods.

Total Debt (including operating lease liability)

The total debt exhibits fluctuations without a consistent upward or downward trend. Starting at approximately 7.7 billion US dollars in early 2015, it decreased moderately by the end of 2015, followed by a significant increase reaching peaks around 11.5 billion US dollars by mid-2017. After this peak, debt levels generally declined, ending around 8.3 billion US dollars in the third quarter of 2019. These movements indicate periods of increased leverage followed by reductions, reflecting possible strategic financing decisions or repayments.

Total Capital (including operating lease liability)

Total capital showed a marked decline over the timeframe. In early 2015, capital stood above 27 billion US dollars but underwent a sharp reduction by late 2015 to roughly 13 billion US dollars. Subsequently, capital briefly increased, peaking near 23 billion US dollars by mid-2017, before entering a prolonged decline, ending near 11.5 billion US dollars in the third quarter of 2019. This overall downward trajectory suggests either a shrinking asset base or reduced equity funding.

Debt to Capital Ratio (including operating lease liability)

The debt to capital ratio indicates leverage trends more explicitly. Initially stable around 0.28 in early 2015, it rose significantly to above 0.5 by late 2015, suggesting a sharp increase in reliance on debt financing relative to total capital. Throughout 2016, the ratio fluctuated moderately but remained elevated. The ratio dipped to approximately 0.44 in early 2017 but then increased steadily from mid-2017 onwards, reaching a high of about 0.72 by the third quarter of 2019. This rising leverage level towards the end of the period signals an increasing proportion of debt in the company's capital structure, implying higher financial risk or strategic leveraging.

Overall, the data depict a company that experienced significant changes in both its capital base and debt levels, with a general trend towards higher leverage in the later years. The interplay between declining total capital and fluctuating total debt culminated in a rising debt to capital ratio, indicating growing dependence on debt financing over time.

Total Debt

The total debt exhibited fluctuations over the examined periods. Initially, from March 2015 to December 2015, total debt decreased from approximately $7.7 billion to $6.8 billion. However, from March 2016, the debt level increased sharply, peaking in June 2017 at about $11.5 billion. Following this peak, debt stabilized near the $9.2 billion mark until the end of 2018. In 2019, there was a slight declining trend, with debt reducing from $9.3 billion in June to $7.8 billion by September.

Total Assets

Total assets demonstrated significant volatility in the earlier part of the period. From March to June 2015, assets increased slightly, but a considerable drop occurred in the third and fourth quarters of 2015, falling from roughly $45.7 billion to about $17.8 billion. After this, assets showed a gradual recovery trend through 2016 and the first half of 2017, rising to near $27.5 billion. From the second half of 2017 onward, a declining trend prevailed, with assets decreasing steadily to approximately $18.7 billion by September 2019.

Debt to Assets Ratio

The debt to assets ratio experienced noteworthy changes throughout the period. Starting at 0.17 in early 2015, the ratio spiked substantially during 2015, reaching 0.41 by September and remaining high through 2016, peaking at 0.46 in March 2016. A gradual decline occurred during late 2016 and continued into 2017, with the ratio oscillating around 0.38 to 0.39. However, from mid-2018 onwards, the ratio trended upwards again, rising to 0.44 by September 2019, reflecting increased leverage relative to assets despite the reduction in total debt.

Total Debt (Including Operating Lease Liability)

Over the observed periods, total debt exhibited fluctuations without a consistent upward or downward trend. Initial values started around 7,663 million US dollars, peaking notably in the mid-2017 period at 11,466 million US dollars. Subsequently, debt levels demonstrated slight declines and stabilization, ending near 8,250 million US dollars by September 2019. This suggests periods of increased borrowing followed by deleveraging or debt repayment actions.

Total Assets

Total assets showed considerable volatility, with an initial level near 44,841 million US dollars before a sharp decrease to approximately 17,785 million US dollars by the end of 2015. After this drop, assets gradually increased through 2017 to levels surpassing 27,000 million US dollars but then gradually declined again, finishing at around 18,714 million US dollars in the final period. These movements may indicate asset sales, restructuring, or reclassification of asset categories, affecting the total asset base significantly.

Debt to Assets Ratio (Including Operating Lease Liability)

The debt-to-assets ratio experienced an initial jump from 0.17 up to above 0.4 in the latter part of 2015, reflecting the relative increase of liabilities compared to assets due to the significant asset decrease noted earlier. Following the spike, the ratio fluctuated moderately around the 0.38 to 0.46 range through subsequent years. The ratio's persistence near this higher range suggests maintained leverage levels relative to asset values, without a clear trend toward deleveraging. This indicates that the company sustained moderate to high leverage during the periods under review.

The financial data reveals several notable trends over the examined periods. Total assets demonstrate initial fluctuations, with a significant drop in late 2015, followed by a steady recovery and peak around mid-2017. After this peak, total assets show a consistent declining pattern through to the third quarter of 2019, indicating a reduction in the asset base over the latter periods.

Stockholders’ equity exhibits a similar volatile pattern. It declines sharply in late 2015, recovers moderately until late 2016, and then undergoes a steady decrease for the remainder of the periods under review. This steady decrease from early 2017 onwards suggests a continuous reduction in the equity base, which may be linked to company-specific financial strategies or external market conditions affecting retained earnings or other equity components.

Financial leverage, calculated as the ratio of total assets to stockholders’ equity, shows a corresponding trend with fluctuations initially and a clear upward trajectory from 2017 through 2019. Starting from approximately 2.1 at the beginning of 2017, the leverage ratio increases substantially, reaching 5.72 by the third quarter of 2019. This indicates a growing reliance on debt or other liabilities relative to equity, reflecting an increasingly leveraged capital structure. Such a rise in financial leverage could imply higher financial risk, potentially due to increased borrowing or shrinking equity capitalization.

Total Assets

Marked by early volatility with a sharp decline in late 2015, followed by recovery and peak in mid-2017, and thereafter a consistent decline through 2019.

Stockholders’ Equity

Experienced a sharp drop in late 2015, moderate recovery until late 2016, and a persistent decreasing trend from 2017 onwards, indicating a diminishing equity base.

Financial Leverage

Initial fluctuation with a significant increasing trend from 2017 to 2019, rising from about 2.14 to 5.72, reflecting increased reliance on debt financing or reduced equity.

Overall, the data suggests a period of restructuring or financial adjustment starting around 2015, followed by an expansion phase peaking around 2017, and subsequently a contraction phase characterized by asset and equity reduction combined with increased leverage. This pattern may have implications for the company's risk profile and capital management strategies.