Capital Structure Decision and Cost of Capital
In basic terms, capital structure has got to do with how companies finance their overall operations using various sources of funds. In this text, I recommend what is in my opinion the optimal capital structure for the three companies selected for purposes of this discussion. The companies that will be used for purposes of this discussion are: Alaska Air Group, the Clorox Group, and eBay.
Optimal Capital Structure: Analysis and Recommendations
In seeking to determine the optimal capital structure for each of the three firms, it would be prudent to rely on a number of factors including but not limited to each firm's profitability and liquidity, nature of industry, company characteristics, etc.
EBay
EBay is essentially one of the largest online retailers in the world. According to Yahoo Finance (2014), the company "provides online platforms, tools, and services to help individuals and merchants in online and mobile commerce and payments in the United States and internationally." On its website, the company points out that as of today, it has approximately 124 million customers and users scattered across the globe (eBay, 2014). Its key competitors include but they are not limited to Overstock.com Inc. And Amazon.com Inc. The company retails a wide range of items through its numerous segments.
Table 1: Key Financial Statement Items
Item
Value (in $)
Current assets
21,398,000
Long-term assets
15,676,000
Current liabilities
10,924,000
Long-term liabilities
5,285,000
Revenue
14,072,000
Note: All dollar figures are in thousands
Table 2: Financial Ratios
Ratio
Value
Debt-to-equity ratio
0.78
Profit margin
0.19
Return on assets
0.07
Return on equity
0.13
EBay has a debt to equity ratio of 0.78. This ratio, according to Graham and Smart (2011), attempts to measure the financial leverage of a firm. This, as the authors further point out, it does by focusing solely on the long-term debt of an entity. In that regard therefore, eBay deems it fit to finance a significant proportion of its operations and assets using equity as opposed to debt. Like is the case in the Retail Industry, the Catalog & Mail Order Industry does not face significant fluctuations with regard to sales. Indeed, within the last three financial years, eBay's sales have not experienced significant fluctuations. In that regard therefore, the company can be permitted to have a high degree of financial leverage. Based on the company's profitability -- as indicated by its return on equity, the company would not have trouble meeting interest payments. In that regard therefore, the company should consider increasing debt proportion in its capital structure so as to have an optimal capital structure.
The Clorox Group
The Clorox Group according...
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