debt/equity ratio
Noun


The leverage ratio that measures the riskiness of a company’s capital structure by relating the amount of capital supplied by the firm’s creditors to the amount supplied by the firm’s owners: Total Liabilities ÷ Total Shareholders’ Equity.

Synonym(s): 
  • D/E ratio; debt-to-equity ratio; debt-to-net-worth ratio.
  • [BE]: gearing ratio
    .