Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS)

Debt to equity ratio

The debt to equity ratio experienced an increase from 0.53 in 2019 to a peak of 0.71 in 2020, followed by a consistent decline reaching 0.46 by 2024. When including operating lease liabilities, a similar pattern is observed with a maximum of 0.75 in 2020, decreasing to 0.49 in 2024. This trend indicates that the company reduced its reliance on debt relative to equity after 2020.

Debt to capital ratio

This ratio rose from 0.35 in 2019 to 0.41 in 2020, then gradually decreased to 0.31 in 2024. Including operating lease liabilities, the ratio peaked at 0.43 in 2020 and subsequently declined to 0.33 in 2024. The overall trend suggests a reduction in debt as a proportion of total capital over the latter years.

Debt to assets ratio

The debt to assets ratio increased from 0.24 in 2019 to 0.29 in 2021, then declined to 0.23 by 2024. Including operating lease liabilities, the ratio followed a similar trajectory: rising to 0.31 in 2020, then gradually falling to 0.25 in 2024. This pattern reflects a reduction in leverage relative to total assets in recent years.

Financial leverage

Financial leverage showed an upward shift from 2.18 in 2019 to 2.41 in 2020, followed by a steady decrease to 1.95 in 2024. This suggests a decline in total assets relative to equity, indicating a strengthening equity base or reduction in asset levels financed by debt.

Interest coverage ratio

The interest coverage ratio exhibited significant volatility. It decreased drastically from 12.19 in 2019 to a negative -0.06 in 2020, indicating an inability to cover interest expenses that year. Subsequent years showed recovery with values of 2.66 in 2021, ascending to 4.66 by 2024, though still below 2019 levels. This pattern reflects financial distress in 2020 followed by gradual improvement in operational profitability or interest burden management.

Fixed charge coverage ratio

The fixed charge coverage ratio followed a similar trend, dropping sharply from 6.94 in 2019 to 0.32 in 2020, then recovering to 3.53 in 2024. This indicates a reduced capacity to cover fixed financial obligations in 2020, with steady recovery thereafter but not fully returning to the pre-2020 ratio.

Total Debt

The total debt initially increased notably from approximately $47.1 billion in 2019 to nearly $58.9 billion in 2020. This represents a significant rise during that year. Subsequently, the total debt progressively decreased each year, falling to $54.7 billion in 2021, then continuing the downward trend to $48.6 billion in 2022, $46.7 billion in 2023, and finally reaching about $46.0 billion in 2024. This pattern suggests a strategic reduction in debt following the peak in 2020.

Total Disney Shareholder’s Equity

The shareholder's equity demonstrated some variability but showed an overall increasing trend. It started at $88.9 billion in 2019 and declined to $83.6 billion in 2020. Afterward, it rose steadily year over year, reaching $88.6 billion in 2021, $95.0 billion in 2022, $99.3 billion in 2023, and finally $100.7 billion in 2024. This growth after 2020 indicates improved equity strength and possibly retained earnings or capital accumulation.

Debt to Equity Ratio

The debt to equity ratio reflects these underlying movements in debt and equity. The ratio increased markedly from 0.53 in 2019 to 0.71 in 2020, consistent with the debt rise and equity decline during that period. From 2021 onward, the ratio steadily decreased each year, falling to 0.62 in 2021, 0.51 in 2022, 0.47 in 2023, and 0.46 in 2024. This reduction is indicative of an improving capital structure, with lower financial leverage and enhanced equity relative to debt.

Total debt (including operating lease liability)

The total debt exhibited a significant increase from 47,137 million USD in 2019 to a peak of 62,323 million USD in 2020. Subsequently, there was a gradual decline each year, reaching 49,517 million USD by 2024. This indicates a strategic reduction in debt levels following the 2020 peak.

Total Disney Shareholder’s equity

Shareholder’s equity showed a steady upward trend over the analyzed period. Starting from 88,877 million USD in 2019, it slightly decreased to 83,583 million USD in 2020 but then consistently increased yearly, reaching 100,696 million USD by 2024. This suggests strengthening equity capital and potentially improved retained earnings or capital inflows post-2020.

Debt to equity (including operating lease liability)

The debt-to-equity ratio rose significantly from 0.53 in 2019 to 0.75 in 2020, reflecting the spike in debt relative to equity during that year. Thereafter, a consistent reduction in this ratio occurred annually, shrinking to 0.49 by 2024. This pattern demonstrates an improvement in financial leverage and a healthier balance sheet position over time.

Total Debt

The total debt showed an initial increase from 47,137 million USD in 2019 to a peak of 58,936 million USD in 2020. Following this peak, a consistent reduction trend is observed over the subsequent years, with debt decreasing to 54,693 million USD in 2021, 48,625 million USD in 2022, 46,674 million USD in 2023, and further declining to 46,005 million USD in 2024. This suggests a concerted effort to reduce leverage and improve the company's debt profile over time.

Total Capital

Total capital steadily increased throughout the analyzed period, starting at 136,014 million USD in 2019 and rising gradually to 146,701 million USD by 2024. The growth in total capital is relatively modest and consistent, indicating stable expansion in the company’s capital base.

Debt to Capital Ratio

The debt to capital ratio peaked at 0.41 in 2020, reflecting a higher proportion of debt in the company's capital structure during that year. After 2020, the ratio decreased each year, falling to 0.38 in 2021, 0.34 in 2022, 0.32 in 2023, and reaching 0.31 in 2024. This declining trend aligns with the reduction in total debt and the steady increase in total capital, indicating improved financial leverage and potentially lower financial risk.

The financial data presents a multi-year overview of the company's debt and capital metrics, enabling an assessment of leverage and capital structure trends over six reporting periods from September 2019 through September 2024.

Total Debt (Including Operating Lease Liability)

The total debt showed a significant increase from 47,137 million US dollars in 2019 to a peak of 62,323 million in 2020. Following this peak, the debt level declined consistently over the next four years, falling to 49,517 million by 2024. This pattern suggests an initial increase in borrowing or lease obligations, likely related to specific operational or strategic needs in 2020, followed by a steady deleveraging approach.

Total Capital (Including Operating Lease Liability)

Total capital exhibited a steady upward trend, increasing from 136,014 million US dollars in 2019 to 150,213 million in 2024. The growth in total capital was gradual and consistent each year without any notable declines, indicating capital expansion through retained earnings, equity issuance, or other capital inflows supporting the company's long-term growth and investment capacity.

Debt to Capital Ratio

The ratio of debt to capital increased from 0.35 in 2019 to 0.43 in 2020, reflecting higher leverage at that point. Thereafter, the ratio steadily declined each year to reach 0.33 by 2024, which is the lowest in the observed period. This decline indicates an improvement in the company's leverage position, with debt comprising a smaller proportion of total capital, potentially reflecting risk reduction and strengthened financial stability.

Overall, the data reveals a period of increased leverage in 2020, likely driven by external or strategic factors, followed by a focused effort on reducing debt relative to capital, while total capital itself expanded moderately throughout the six-year timeframe. This suggests a strengthening financial structure with improved balance sheet resilience in recent years.

Total Debt

The total debt level exhibited an initial increase from 47,137 million US dollars as of September 28, 2019, to a peak of 58,936 million US dollars by October 3, 2020. Following this peak, a general declining trend is observed with total debt decreasing to 54,693 million in 2021, then further down to 48,625 million in 2022, continuing to 46,674 million in 2023 and reaching 46,005 million by September 28, 2024.

Total Assets

Total assets showed a gradual upward trend starting at 193,984 million US dollars in late 2019, rising to a high point of 205,579 million in 2023. However, this upward movement reversed slightly in the most recent period ending September 28, 2024, where total assets declined to 196,219 million.

Debt to Assets Ratio

The debt to assets ratio moved consistently in close correlation with the changes in debt and asset levels. From 0.24 in 2019, it increased to 0.29 in 2020, reflecting the rise in total debt combined with relatively stable asset base. Subsequently, this ratio decreased steadily from 0.27 in 2021 to 0.23 in both 2023 and 2024, indicating a relative reduction in leverage as debt levels fell faster than assets over these periods.

Overall Insights

The company demonstrated a conservative financial strategy over the reviewed periods, particularly after 2020, marked by a reduction in debt and stable or moderately increasing asset levels until 2023. The decline in the debt to assets ratio indicates an improvement in the capital structure and potentially lower financial risk. The slight drop in total assets during the most recent year suggests a possible divestiture or asset write-down that warrants further investigation. The consistent decrease in leverage ratios may positively impact the company's creditworthiness and financial stability in the medium-term perspective.

The financial data indicates a fluctuating trend in the total debt of the company over the six-year period. The total debt, including operating lease liability, initially increased significantly from 47,137 million US dollars in 2019 to a peak of 62,323 million US dollars in 2020. Following this peak, the total debt showed a consistent downward trajectory, decreasing each subsequent year to reach 49,517 million US dollars in 2024.

Total assets remained relatively stable across the timeframe, with minor fluctuations. Starting at 193,984 million US dollars in 2019, total assets increased modestly through 2020 and 2021, peaking at 205,579 million US dollars in 2023 before declining to 196,219 million US dollars in 2024. This suggests a period of asset growth followed by a slight contraction.

The debt to assets ratio, which measures the proportion of debt relative to total assets, reflected similar trends to the total debt values. The ratio grew from 0.24 in 2019 to a high of 0.31 in 2020, aligning with the increase in total debt observed during that year. Thereafter, the ratio steadily decreased, stabilizing around 0.25 in both 2023 and 2024. This indicates that despite fluctuations in debt and assets, the company's leverage remained moderate and returned to near its initial level by the end of the period.

Overall, the company's financial structure showed an increase in leverage during 2020, possibly due to increased borrowing or operational leasing obligations, followed by a retrenchment in debt levels. The relatively stable total assets combined with decreasing debt levels in recent years point towards a strengthening balance sheet and potentially improved financial risk management.

Total assets

The total assets exhibited relatively stable levels over the observed periods, starting at approximately 193.98 billion US dollars in late 2019 and slightly increasing to a peak of around 205.58 billion US dollars by the end of fiscal 2023. However, there is a notable decrease to about 196.22 billion US dollars in the most recent period, suggesting a reduction in asset base after several years of modest growth.

Total Disney Shareholder’s equity

Shareholder’s equity demonstrated an overall upward trend throughout the years. Beginning at 88.88 billion US dollars in 2019, it experienced a dip in 2020 to 83.58 billion but steadily increased thereafter, reaching approximately 100.70 billion US dollars by 2024. This progression indicates strengthening equity positions and a solidifying capital structure over time.

Financial leverage

Financial leverage showed a downward trajectory from a ratio of 2.18 in 2019 to 1.95 in 2024. After rising to 2.41 in 2020, it began decreasing each subsequent year. This reduction in leverage suggests a relative decrease in reliance on debt financing, possibly reflecting a strategic move towards less leveraged financial management and enhanced balance sheet stability.

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT)

The EBIT exhibited substantial fluctuations over the observed periods. Initially, it was markedly strong at 15,190 million USD in 2019, followed by a dramatic decline to -96 million USD in 2020, reflecting a period of operational or external challenges. Subsequently, EBIT showed a recovery trend, increasing to 4,107 million USD in 2021 and further improving to 6,834 million in 2022. There was a marginal decrease to 6,742 million USD in 2023, but the figure rebounded significantly to 9,639 million USD in 2024. Overall, after a sharp downturn in 2020, EBIT demonstrated a consistent recovery with positive momentum in the most recent year.

Interest Expense

Interest expense increased steadily over the time frame, starting from 1,246 million USD in 2019. It rose to 1,647 million in 2020 and then slightly decreased to 1,546 million in 2021. From 2021 onwards, it trended upwards again, reaching 1,549 million USD in 2022, and escalating further to 1,973 million and 2,070 million USD in 2023 and 2024, respectively. This upward trend indicates a growing cost of debt or higher debt levels over time.

Interest Coverage Ratio

The interest coverage ratio, which measures the ability to cover interest expenses with operating earnings, showed significant variability. It started at a high level of 12.19 in 2019, demonstrating strong coverage capacity. In 2020, it dropped sharply to -0.06, signaling an inability to cover interest expenses due to negative EBIT. The ratio recovered to 2.66 in 2021 and improved further to 4.41 in 2022. However, it declined to 3.42 in 2023 before rising again to 4.66 in 2024. Despite volatility, the ratio improved considerably after 2020, suggesting improved earnings relative to interest obligations, though not reaching the initial 2019 level.

Earnings before fixed charges and tax

The earnings exhibited a significant decline from 16,290 million USD in 2019 to 803 million USD in 2020, indicating a substantial drop likely related to external economic factors. Subsequently, earnings showed a recovery trend, rising to 4,960 million USD in 2021 and further increasing to 7,630 million USD in 2022. The values remained relatively stable around the mid-7,000 million USD range in 2023 before increasing again to 10,565 million USD in 2024, suggesting a strengthening operational performance towards the most recent period.

Fixed charges

Fixed charges demonstrated a gradual upward trend, starting at 2,346 million USD in 2019 and increasing steadily to 2,996 million USD in 2024. This persistent rise implies growing fixed financial obligations over the years, which could affect future profitability depending on operational earnings.

Fixed charge coverage ratio

The fixed charge coverage ratio, which measures the ability to cover fixed charges with operational earnings, sharply declined from a strong 6.94 times in 2019 to a critically low level of 0.32 times in 2020. Although there was a gradual improvement in subsequent years, reaching 3.53 times in 2024, the ratio has not yet returned to its initial high level. This indicates that while the company’s capacity to cover its fixed charges has improved since the 2020 low, it remains somewhat constrained relative to the 2019 baseline.