What is Southern Co Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation?
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation is the debt and capital lease obligation due more than 12 months in the future. Southern Co's Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2023 was $58,517 Mil.
Warning Sign:
Southern Co keeps issuing new debt. Over the past 3 years, it issued USD 13.3 billion of debt.
LT-Debt-to-Total-Asset is a measurement representing the percentage of a corporation's assets that are financed with loans and financial obligations lasting more than one year. The ratio provides a general measure of the financial position of a company, including its ability to meet financial requirements for outstanding loans. It is calculated as a company's Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation divides by its Total Assets. Southern Co's Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2023 was $58,517 Mil. Southern Co's Total Assets for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2023 was $139,331 Mil. Southern Co's LT-Debt-to-Total-Asset for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2023 was 0.42.
Southern Co's LT-Debt-to-Total-Asset
increased
from Dec. 2022 (0.39) to Dec. 2023 (0.42).
It may suggest that Southern Co is progressively becoming more dependent on debt to grow their business.
Southern Co Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation Historical Data
The historical data trend for Southern Co's Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
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Southern Co Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation Chart
Southern Co Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation Calculation
Long-Term Debt is the debt due more than 12 months in the future. The debt can be owed to banks or bondholders. Some companies issue bonds to investors and pay interest on the bonds.
Long-Term Capital Lease Obligation represents the total liability for long-term leases lasting over one year. It's amount equal to the present value (the principal) at the beginning of the lease term less lease payments during the lease term.
The interest paid on companies' debt is reflected in the income statement as interest expense. If a company has too much debt and it cannot serve the interest payment on the debt or repay the matured debt, the company risks bankruptcy. Peter Lynch famously said: A company that does not have debt cannot go bankrupt.
A company's long term debt may have different dates of maturity and interest rates, depending on the terms.
Usually a company issues long term debt to pay for its capital expenditures. Borrowing allows the company to do things that otherwise cannot be done with only the capital it has. But debt can be risky.
Southern Co (NYSE:SO) Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation Explanation
LT-Debt-to-Total-Asset is a measurement representing the percentage of a corporation's assets that are financed with loans and financial obligations lasting more than one year. The ratio provides a general measure of the financial position of a company, including its ability to meet financial requirements for outstanding loans. A year-over-year decrease in this metric would suggest the company is progressively becoming less dependent on debt to grow their business.
Southern Co's LT-Debt-to-Total-Asset ratio for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2023 is calculated as:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Buffett says that durable competitive advantages carry little to no long-term debt because the company is so profitable that even expansions or acquisitions are self financed.
We are interested in long term debt load for the last ten years. If the ten years of operation show little to no long term debt, then the company has some kind of strong competitive advantage.
Warren Buffett's historic purchases indicate that on any given year, the company should have sufficient yearly net earnings to pay all long term within 3 or 4 year earnings period. (e.g. Coke + Moody's = 1yr)
Companies with enough earning power to pay long term debt in less than 3 or 4 years is a good candidate in our search for long term competitive advantage.
BUT, these companies are targets for leveraged buy outs, which saddles the business with long term debt.
If all else indicates the company has a moat, but it has ton of debt, a leveraged buyout may have created the debt. In these cases the company's bonds offer the better bet, in that the companys earnings power is focused on paying off the debt and not growth.
Important: little or no long term debt often means a Good Long Term Bet
Southern Co Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation Related Terms
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Southern is one of the largest utilities in the U.S. The company serves 9 million customers with vertically integrated electric utilities in three states and natural gas distribution utilities in four states. It owns 50 gigawatts of rate-regulated generating capacity, primarily for serving customers in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Subsidiary Southern Power owns 13 gigawatts of natural gas generation and renewable energy across the U.S. and sells the electricity primarily under long-term contracts.
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