What Is Capital Structure?

什么是资本结构？

Capital structure is the particular combination of debt and equity used by a company to finance its overall operations and growth.

资本结构是公司用来为其整体运营和增长融资的债务和股权的特定组合。

Equity capital arises from ownership shares in a company and claims to its future cash flows and profits. Debt comes in the form of bond issues or loans, while equity may come in the form of common stock, preferred stock, or retained earnings. Short-term debt is also considered to be part of the capital structure.

股权资本来源于公司的所有权股份，并对其未来的现金流和利润享有权利。债务以发行债券或贷款的形式出现，而股权可能以普通股、优先股或留存收益的形式出现。短期债务也被认为是资本结构的一部分。

Dynamics of Debt and Equity

债务和股权的动态

Both debt and equity can be found on the balance sheet. Company assets, also listed on the balance sheet, are purchased with debt or equity. Capital structure can be a mixture of a company's long-term debt, short-term debt, common stock, and preferred stock. A company's proportion of short-term debt versus long-term debt is considered when analyzing its capital structure.

债务和股权都在资产负债表中有所记录。同样列在资产负债表上的公司资产是用债务或股权购买的。资本结构可以是公司长期债务、短期债务、普通股和优先股的混合。在分析一家公司的资本结构时，会考虑其短期债务与长期债务的比例。

When analysts refer to capital structure, they are most likely referring to a firm's debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio, which provides insight into how risky a company's borrowing practices are. Usually, a company that is heavily financed by debt has a more aggressive capital structure and, therefore, poses a greater risk to investors. This risk, however, may be the primary source of the firm's growth.

当分析师提到资本结构时，他们最有可能指的是一家公司的负债权益比(D/E),该比率可以洞察一家公司的借贷行为有多大风险。通常，一家负债累累的公司拥有更激进的资本结构，因此会给投资者带来更大的风险。但是，这种风险可能是公司成长的主要来源。

Debt is one of the two main ways a company can raise money in the capital markets. Companies benefit from debt because of its tax advantages; interest payments made as a result of borrowing funds may be tax-deductible. Debt also allows a company or business to retain ownership, unlike equity. Additionally, in times of low interest rates, debt is abundant and easy to access.

债务是公司在资本市场筹集资金的两种主要方式之一。公司受益于债务，因为它的税收优势；因借款而支付的利息可以免税。与股权不同，债务还允许公司或企业保留所有权。此外，在低利率时期，债务充裕且容易获得。

Equity allows outside investors to take partial ownership of the company. Equity is more expensive than debt, especially when interest rates are low. However, unlike debt, equity does not need to be paid back. This is a benefit to the company in the case of declining earnings. On the other hand, equity represents a claim by the owner on the future earnings of the company.

股权允许外部投资者获得公司的部分所有权。股权比债务更昂贵，尤其是在利率较低的时候。但是，与债务不同，股权不需要偿还。这是在收益下滑的情况下，对公司的一个利好。另一方面，股权代表了所有者对公司未来收益的要求权。

Optimal Capital Structure

最优资本结构

Companies that use more debt than equity to finance their assets and fund operating activities have a high leverage ratio and an aggressive capital structure. A company that pays for assets with more equity than debt has a low leverage ratio and a conservative capital structure. That said, a high leverage ratio and an aggressive capital structure can also lead to higher growth rates, whereas a conservative capital structure can lead to lower growth rates.

那些用更多的债务而不是股权来为其资产和经营活动融资的公司拥有很高的杠杆率和激进的资本结构。一个以权益多于债务支付资产的公司杠杆率低，资本结构保守。也就是说，高杠杆率和激进的资本结构也可能导致更高的增长率，而保守的资本结构可能导致更低的增长率。

Analysts use the D/E ratio to compare capital structure. It is calculated by dividing total liabilities by total equity. Savvy companies have learned to incorporate both debt and equity into their corporate strategies. At times, however, companies may rely too heavily on external funding and debt in particular. Investors can monitor a firm's capital structure by tracking the D/E ratio and comparing it against the company's industry peers.

分析师使用负债权益比来比较资本结构。它的计算方法是总负债除以总股权。精明的公司已经学会将债务和股权结合到他们的公司战略中。但是，有时公司可能过于依赖外部融资，尤其是债务。投资者可以通过跟踪负债权益比并将其与公司的行业同行进行比较来监控公司的资本结构。

Why Do Different Companies Have Different Capital Structure?

为什么不同的公司有不同的资本结构？

Firms in different industries will use capital structures better suited to their type of business. Capital-intensive industries like auto manufacturing may utilize more debt, while labor-intensive or service-oriented firms like software companies may prioritize equity.

不同行业的公司将使用更适合其业务类型的资本结构。汽车制造业等资本密集型行业可能会利用更多的债务，而软件公司等劳动密集型或服务型企业可能会优先考虑股权。

How Do Managers Decide on Capital Structure?

管理者如何决定资本结构？

Assuming that a company has access to capital (e.g. investors and lenders), they will want to minimize their cost of capital. This can be done using a weighted average cost of capital (WACC) calculation. To calculate WACC the manager or analyst will multiply the cost of each capital component by its proportional weight.

假设一家公司可以获得资本(如投资者和贷款人)，他们会希望将其资本成本降至最低。这可以通过加权平均资本成本(WACC)计算来实现。为了计算WACC，经理或分析师将把每个资本成分的成本乘以其比例权重。

How Do Analysts and Investors Use Capital Structure?

分析师和投资者如何使用资本结构？

A company with too much debt can be seen as a credit risk. Too much equity, however, could mean the company is underutilizing its growth opportunities or paying too much for its cost of capital (as equity tends to be more costly than debt). Unfortunately, there is no magic ratio of debt to equity to use as guidance to achieve real-world optimal capital structure. What defines a healthy blend of debt and equity varies depending on the industry the company operates in, its stage of development, and can vary over time due to external changes in interest rates and regulatory environment.

负债过多的公司可以被视为具有信用风险。但是，太多的股权可能意味着公司没有充分利用其增长机会，或者为其资本成本支付了太多(因为股权往往比债务更昂贵)。不幸的是，没有一个神奇的负债权益比可以作为实现现实世界最优资本结构的指南。债务和股权的健康组合取决于公司所处的行业和发展阶段，并且会因利率和监管环境的外部变化而随时间变化。

What Measures Do Analysts and Investors Use to Evaluate Capital Structure?

分析师和投资者用什么方法评估资本结构？

In addition to the weighted average cost of capital (WACC), several metrics can be used to estimate the suitability of a company's capital structure. Leverage ratios are one group of metrics that are used, such as the debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio or debt ratio.

除了加权平均资本成本(WACC)，还有几个指标可以用来评估公司资本结构的适用性。杠杆率是使用的一组指标，如负债权益比(D/E)或债务比率。

The Bottom Line

关键信息

Capital structure is the specific mix of debt and equity that a company uses to finance its operations and growth. Debt consists of borrowed money that must be repaid, often with interest, while equity represents ownership stakes in the company. The debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio is a commonly used measure of a company's capital structure and can provide insight into its level of risk. A company with a high proportion of debt in its capital structure may be considered riskier for investors, but may also have greater potential for growth.

资本结构是公司用来为其运营和增长融资的债务和股权的特定组合。债务包括必须偿还的借款，通常要付利息，而股权代表公司的所有权股份。负债权益比(D/E)是衡量公司资本结构的常用指标，可以洞察公司的风险水平。资本结构中债务比例高的公司可能被投资者视为风险较高，但也可能具有更大的增长潜力。

（英文来源：Investopedia）