How it is worked out
Total debt without operating leases, less cash and short-term investments. Operating leases stay out because profit and cash flow have already paid their rent. Finance leases count.
How to read it
- It says what the company would still owe if it used all its cash to pay debt down.
- Where the filings show debt we cannot read, it is not shown.
Example
Debt $3bn, cash $1bn: net debt of $2bn.