Operating cash flow to debt (OCF/debt)
How many times over the cash from a year of operations would cover all the debt outstanding.
It answers the plain question of how long this business would need to repay its borrowings out of trading.
How it is computed here
Operating cash flow / total debt
Measured over the latest complete fiscal year, as filed. Filed under quality. Higher is the stronger reading, other things equal.
No published threshold exists for this figure, so this page prints none. Read it against the company's own history and its peers instead.
When it misleads
- Withheld rather than shown as infinity when there is no debt. An absent figure here can mean a debt-free balance sheet.
- Before capital spending, so it overstates the cash genuinely available for repayment.
Questions
How is operating cash flow to debt calculated?
Operating cash flow / total debt. Measured over the latest complete fiscal year, as filed.
What does operating cash flow to debt tell a value investor?
It answers the plain question of how long this business would need to repay its borrowings out of trading.
When does operating cash flow to debt mislead?
Withheld rather than shown as infinity when there is no debt. An absent figure here can mean a debt-free balance sheet. Before capital spending, so it overstates the cash genuinely available for repayment.