Times Interest Earned Ratio: What It Is, How to Calculate TIE

times interest earned ratio

TIE ratios are an indicator of the long-term financial strength of an organization. The TIE ratio is helpful for comparing two different companies in terms of how financially stable they are. Factoring with altLINE gets you the working capital you need to keep growing your business. If you would like to learn more about accounting tips, altLINE has many resources available for you. We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team. Mary Girsch-Bock is the expert on accounting software and payroll software for The Ascent.

times interest earned ratio

While 4.16 times is still a good TIE ratio, it’s a tremendous drop from the previous year. While Harold may still be able to obtain a loan based on the 2019 TIE ratio, when the two years are looked at together, chances are that many lenders will decline to fund his hardware store. Let’s explore a few more examples of times interest earned ratio and what the ratio results indicate. If you’re reporting a net loss, your times interest earned ratio would be negative as well. However, if you have a net loss, the times interest earned ratio is probably not the best ratio to calculate for your business.

What Is the Times Interest Earned Ratio?

We can see the TIE ratio for Company A increases from 4.0x to 6.0x by the end of Year 5. In contrast, for Company B, the TIE ratio declines from 3.2x to 0.6x in the same time horizon. Here, Company A is depicting an upside scenario where the operating profit is increasing while interest expense remains constant (i.e. straight-lined) throughout the projection period. While there aren’t necessarily strict parameters that apply to all companies, a TIE ratio above 2.0x is considered to be the minimum acceptable range, with 3.0x+ being preferred. As a general rule of thumb, the higher the TIE ratio, the better off the company is from a risk standpoint.

  • Rosemary Carlson is a finance instructor, author, and consultant who has written about business and personal finance for The Balance since 2008.
  • While Harold may still be able to obtain a loan based on the 2019 TIE ratio, when the two years are looked at together, chances are that many lenders will decline to fund his hardware store.
  • It is calculated as the difference between Gross Profit and Operating Expenses of the business.
  • InsolvencyInsolvency is when the company fails to fulfill its financial obligations like debt repayment or inability to pay off the current liabilities.

For example, if Slippy Drones generated sales of $100 on average total assets of $20, then the asset turnover ratio would be 5x. The https://www.bookstime.com/ measures a company’s ability to repay debt based on current operating income. The higher the TIE ratio, the more cash the company will have leftover after paying debt interest.

Times Interest Earned Ratio Formula and Analysis

The times interest earned ratio is a calculation that measures a company’s ability to pay its interest expenses. Generally speaking, a company that makes a consistent annual income can maintain more debt as part of its total capitalization.

Obviously, creditors would be happy to lend money to a company with a higher times interest earned ratio. This is because it proves that it is capable of paying its interest payments when due.

How To Overcome The Limitations Of Times Interest Earned Ratio?

Typically, it is a warning sign when interest coverage falls below 2.5x. Let us take the example of Walmart Inc.’s annual report for the year 2018 to compute its Times interest earned ratio. According to the annual report, the company’s net income during the period was $10.52 billion. The interest expense towards debt and lease was $1.98 billion and $0.35 billion respectively. Calculate the Times interest earned ratio of Walmart Inc. for the year 2018 if the taxes paid during the period was $4.60 billion. A much higher ratio is a strong indicator that the ability to service debt is not a problem for a borrower. In an article, LeaseQuery, a software company that automates ASC 842 GAAP lease accounting, explains lease interest expense calculation, classification, and reporting.

times interest earned ratio

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