Cost of Debt

By ADAM HAYES

Updated September 28, 2023

Reviewed by MARGARET JAMES

Fact checked by YARILET PEREZ

债务成本

作者：ADAM HAYES

更新时间：2023年9月28日

审阅人：MARGARET JAMES

事实核查人：YARILET PEREZ

 

What Is the Cost of Debt?

什么是债务成本？

 

The cost of debt is the total interest expense owed on a debt. Put simply, the cost of debt is the effective interest rate or the total amount of interest that a company or individual owes on any liabilities, such as bonds and loans. This expense can refer to either the before-tax or after-tax cost of debt. The degree of the cost of debt depends entirely on the borrower's creditworthiness, so higher costs mean the borrower is considered risky.

债务成本是债务的总利息支出。简而言之，债务成本是公司或个人就任何负债（如债券和贷款）所欠的实际利率或利息总额。这一费用可以指债务的税前或税后成本。债务成本的高低完全取决于借款人的信誉，因此成本高往往意味着借款人风险大。

 

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

文章要点

 

The cost of debt is the effective rate that a company pays on its debt, such as bonds and loans.

债务成本是公司为其债务（如债券和贷款）支付的实际利率。

 

The key difference between the pretax cost of debt and the after-tax cost of debt is the fact that interest expense is tax-deductible.

税前债务成本和税后债务成本的主要区别在于利息支出是可减免课税的。

 

Debt is one part of a company’s capital structure, with the other being equity.

债务是公司资本结构的一部分，另一部分是股权。

 

Calculating the cost of debt involves finding the average interest paid on all of a company’s debts.

计算债务成本涉及计算公司所有债务的平均利息。

 

 

How the Cost of Debt Works

债务成本是如何运作的

 

Debt is any money owed by one entity to another. Having debt is unavoidable for many entities and is rather common. In fact, companies and individuals may use debt to make large purchases or investments for further growth.

债务是一个实体欠另一个实体的任何金钱。对于许多实体来说，负债是不可避免的，而且相当普遍。事实上，公司和个人可能会利用债务进行大额购买或投资，以实现进一步增长。

 

For corporations. debt is one part of their capital structures, which also includes equity. Capital structure deals with how a firm finances its overall operations and growth through different sources of funds, which may include debt such as bonds or loans.

对于公司来说，债务是他们资本结构的一部分，资本结构也包括股权。资本结构涉及公司如何通过不同的资金来源为其整体运营和公司发展融资，这些资金来源可能包括债券或贷款等债务。

 

The cost of debt measure is helpful in understanding the overall rate being paid by a company to use these types of debt financing. The measure can also give investors an idea of the company’s risk level compared to others because riskier companies generally have a higher cost of debt.

债务成本衡量有助于了解公司使用这些类型的债务融资所支付的总体利率。该指标还可以让投资者了解该公司相对于其他公司的风险水平，因为风险较高的公司通常有较高的债务成本。

 

The cost of debt is generally lower than cost of equity.

债务成本通常低于股权成本。

。

Formula and Calculation of Cost of Debt

债务成本的计算公式

 

There are a couple of different ways to calculate a company’s cost of debt, depending on the information available.

基于可获得的信息，有多种不同的方法可用于计算公司的债务成本。

 

 

After-Tax Cost of Debt

税后债务成本

 

One way to calculate the cost of debt is by using the formula for the after-tax cost of debt:

计算债务成本的一种方法是使用债务税后成本公式：

 

ATCD=(RFRR+CS)×(1−税率)

 

where:

其中：

 

ATCD=After-tax cost of debt

ATCD=税后债务成本

RFRR=Risk-free rate of return

RFRR=无风险回报率

CS=Credit spread

CS=信用利差

 

The risk-free rate of return is the theoretical rate of return of an investment with zero risk, most commonly associated with U.S. Treasury bonds. A credit spread is a difference in yield between a U.S. Treasury bond and another debt security of the same maturity but different credit quality.

无风险回报率是零风险投资的理论回报率，通常与美国国债相关。信用利差是美国国债和另一种期限相同但信用质量不同的债务证券之间的收益率差异。

 

This formula is useful because it takes into account fluctuations in the economy, as well as company-specific debt usage and credit rating. If the company has more debt or a low credit rating, then its credit spread will be higher.

这一公式很有用，因为它有将经济的波动、公司特定的债务使用和信用评级考虑在内。如果公司有更多的债务或较低的信用评级，那么它的信用利差会更高。

 

For example, say the risk-free rate of return is 1.5% and the company’s credit spread is 3%. Its pretax cost of debt is 4.5%. If its tax rate is 30%, then the after-tax cost of debt is 3.15%. We can calculate this in the following way:

例如，假设无风险回报率为1.5%，公司的信用利差为3%。其税前债务成本则为4.5%。如果其税率为30%，那么税后债务成本为3.15%。我们可以按以下方式计算：

 

[(0.015+0.03)X(1-0.3)]

 

Before-Tax Cost of Debt

税前债务成本

 

Another way to calculate the cost of debt is to determine the total amount of interest paid on each debt for the year. The interest rate that a company pays on its debts includes both the risk-free rate of return and the credit spread from the formula above because the lender(s) will take both into account when initially determining an interest rate.

另一种计算债务成本的方法是确定一年中每笔债务支付的利息总额。公司为其债务支付的利率包括无风险回报率和上述公式中的信用利差，因为贷款人在最初确定利率时会将这两者都考虑在内。

 

Once the company has its total interest paid for the year, it divides this number by the total of all of its debt. This is the company’s average interest rate on all of its debt.

一旦公司支付了当年的总利息，它就用这个数字除以所有债务的总额。这是该公司所有债务的平均利率。

 

For example, say a company has a $1 million loan with a 5% interest rate and a $200,000 loan with a 6% rate. The average interest rate and its pretax cost of debt is 5.17%. This is calculated as follows:

例如，假设一家公司有一笔利率为5%的100万美元贷款和一笔利率为6%的20万美元贷款。债务的平均利率及其税前成本则为5.17%。计算如下：

 

​

 

The company’s tax rate is 30%, which means its after-tax cost of debt is 3.62%. To calculate this, we use the following formula:

该公司的税率为30%，这意味着其税后债务成本为3.62%。计算这一成本时，我们可以使用以下公式：

 

[0.0517X(1-0.30)]

 

How to Reduce Cost of Debt

如何降低债务成本

 

Cutting expenses down is a key goal for corporations and individuals. Whether it's an individual or corporation, the goal is usually the same: to keep costs down and revenue/income higher. Having said that, there are ways to reduce the cost of debt. The following are just a few of the ways to do so:

削减开支是公司和个人的一个关键目标。无论是个人还是公司，目标通常都是一样的：降低成本，提高收入。话虽如此，还是有办法降低债务成本的。以下是实现这一目标的几种方法：

 

Negotiating Rates: Consider the situation and see if you can negotiate a better rate. Some lenders will offer a certain rate upfront. But you don't have to accept the rate they give you. In fact, many lenders may be willing to work with you to give you a lower one if you are willing to put in the effort to negotiate because they want your business.

协商利率：根据实际情况进行考虑，看看你是否能协商一个更好的利率。一些贷款人会提前提供一定的利率。但是你不必接受他们给你的利率。事实上，如果你愿意花费时间谈判，那么许多贷款人可能愿意与你合作，给你一个较低的利率，因为他们想要你的业务。

 

Refinancing: Consider refinancing if interest rates lower or your situation changes and you're in a position to secure a better rate. People often do this with their mortgages when interest rates drop. This allows them to cut their monthly mortgage payments down.

再融资：如果利率降低或你的情况发生变化，你有能力获得更好的利率，考虑再融资。当利率下降时，人们经常这样处理他们的抵押贷款。这使得他们可以减少每月的抵押贷款。

 

Increase Payments: If you pay more than the required monthly payment, you'll drop your principal balance down, which can reduce the amount of interest you'll pay over the life of the debt.

增加还款额：如果你支付的金额超过了每月所需的还款额，你的本金余额就会下降，这可以减少你在债务期限内支付的利息。

 

Improving Credit Scores: Your credit score is what determines the rate you're going to get. If you have a low score, you'll end up paying a higher rate. Improving your score will help you get a lower rate. You can do this by maintaining your payments or paying off existing debt. Make sure you check your credit report regularly to ensure there are no errors.

提高信用评分：你的信用评分决定了你将获得的利率。如果你的分数很低，你最终会支付更高的利率。提高你的分数将有助于你获得较低的利率。你可以通过维持你的付款或还清现有债务来做到这一点。一定要你定期检查你的信用报告，以确保没有错误。

 

Example of Cost of Debt

债务成本示例

 

We've shown a few instances of the cost of debt. But let's take a look at one final example to show how it works.

我们已经展示了一些债务成本的示例。但是让我们再看最后一个示例，了解一下债务成本是如何运作的。

 

Suppose you run a small business and you have two debt vehicles under the enterprise. The first is a loan worth $250,000 through a major financial institution. The second is a $150,000 loan through a private investor. The first loan has an interest rate of 5% and the second one has a rate of 4.5%.

假设你经营一家小企业，企业下有两个债务工具。第一种是通过一家大型金融机构获得的价值25万美元的贷款。第二种是通过私人投资者获得的15万美元贷款。第一笔贷款利率为5%，第二笔贷款利率为4.5%。

 

First, let's calculate the total amount of interest you'll pay each year on both of these loans:

首先，我们来计算一下你每年为这两笔贷款支付的利息总额：

 

Loan # 1: $250,000 x 5% = $12,500

Loan # 2: $150,000 x 4.5% = $6,750

贷款#1：250,000美元x5%=12,500美元

贷款#2：150,000美元x4.5%=6,750美元

 

We can add these two figures together to get the total annual interest, which is $19250.

我们可以把这两个数字加在一起，得到年利息总额，即19,250美元。

 

In order to calculate the effective rate before taxes, we divide this figure by the total amount of the debt:

为了计算实际税前税率，我们将这个数字除以债务总额：

 

Therefore, the effective before-tax rate of these debts is 4.81%

因此，该等债务的实际税前利率为4.81%

 

How Do Cost of Debt and Cost of Equity Differ?

债务成本和股权成本有什么不同？

 

Debt and equity capital both provide businesses with the money they need to maintain their day-to-day operations. Equity capital tends to be more expensive for companies and does not have a favorable tax treatment. Too much debt financing, however, can lead to creditworthiness issues and increase the risk of default or bankruptcy. As a result, firms look to optimize their weighted average cost of capital (WACC) across debt and equity.

债务和股权资本都为企业提供维持日常运营所需的资金。股权资本对公司来说往往更昂贵，而且没有优惠的税收待遇。然而，过多的债务融资会导致信誉问题，并增加违约或破产的风险。因此，企业希望优化债务和股权的加权平均资本成本（WACC）。

 

The Bottom Line

关键信息

 

Debt is unavoidable for most people and businesses. It can help us make major purchases or help finance our growth. But it's important to understand how it works. Not only are you paying the principal balance, but you're also responsible for the interest. This is referred to as the cost of debt. You can figure out what the cost of debt is by multiplying the value of your loan by the annual interest rate. Determine your effective interest rate by adding together all that interest by the total amount of debt you owe.

债务对大多数人和企业来说都是不可避免的。它可以帮助我们进行大宗采购或为我们的增长融资。但是理解它是如何运作的是很重要的。你不仅要支付本金余额，还要对利息负责。这被称为债务成本。你可以通过将你的贷款价值乘以年利率来计算债务成本。通过将所有利息与你所欠的债务总额相加来确定你的实际利率。