BONTQ (The Bon-Ton Stores) Debt-to-EBITDA : -54.21 (As of Oct. 2017)

Author: Vera Yuan Vera Yuan
Vera Yuan
Vera Yuan
Director of Data and Quant Analytics at GuruFocus
Focused on building reliable datasets, financial models, and research tools for value-minded investors. Committed to turning complex data into practical guidance for value-investing and long-term wealth.
Reviewed by: Charlie Tian Charlie Tian
Charlie Tian
Charlie Tian
Founder & CEO of GuruFocus
Dr. Charlie Tian is the founder and CEO of GuruFocus.com, a leading global investment research platform established in 2004. With a Ph.D. in physics, Dr. Tian transitioned from science to finance, applying a data-driven, disciplined approach to value investing.

What is The Bon-Ton Stores Debt-to-EBITDA?

The Bon-Ton Stores BONTQ -99.00% Debt-to-EBITDA is -54.21 as of Oct. 2017.

Debt-to-EBITDA measures a company's ability to pay off its debt.

The Bon-Ton Stores's Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation for the quarter that ended in Oct. 2017 was $672 Mil. The Bon-Ton Stores's Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation for the quarter that ended in Oct. 2017 was $474 Mil. The Bon-Ton Stores's annualized EBITDA for the quarter that ended in Oct. 2017 was $-21 Mil. The Bon-Ton Stores's annualized Debt-to-EBITDA for the quarter that ended in Oct. 2017 was -54.21.

A high Debt-to-EBITDA ratio generally means that a company may spend more time to paying off its debt. According to Joel Tillinghast's BIG MONEY THINKS SMALL: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing, a ratio of Debt-to-EBITDA exceeding four is usually considered scary unless tangible assets cover the debt.

The historical rank and industry rank for The Bon-Ton Stores's Debt-to-EBITDA or its related term are showing as below:

BONTQ's Debt-to-EBITDA is not ranked *
in the Retail - Cyclical industry.
Industry Median: 2.27
* Ranked among companies with meaningful Debt-to-EBITDA only.

The Bon-Ton Stores  (OTCPK:BONTQ) Debt-to-EBITDA Explanation

In the calculation of Debt-to-EBITDA, we use the total of Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation divided by EBITDA. In some calculations, Total Liabilities is used to for calculation.


Be Aware

A high Debt-to-EBITDA ratio generally means that a company may spend more time to paying off its debt.

According to Joel Tillinghast's BIG MONEY THINKS SMALL: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing, a ratio of Debt-to-EBITDA exceeding four is usually considered scary unless tangible assets cover the debt.


The Bon-Ton Stores Debt-to-EBITDA Related Terms


The Bon-Ton Stores Debt-to-EBITDA Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for The Bon-Ton Stores's Debt-to-EBITDA 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.

The Bon-Ton Stores Debt-to-EBITDA Chart

The Bon-Ton Stores Annual Data
Trend Jan08 Jan09 Jan10 Jan11 Jan12 Jan13 Jan14 Jan15 Jan16 Jan17
Debt-to-EBITDA
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 5.83 5.56 6.00 9.91 10.07

The Bon-Ton Stores Quarterly Data
Jan13 Apr13 Jul13 Oct13 Jan14 Apr14 Jul14 Oct14 Jan15 Apr15 Jul15 Oct15 Jan16 Apr16 Jul16 Oct16 Jan17 Apr17 Jul17 Oct17
Debt-to-EBITDA Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 28.51 2.91 -15.97 27.63 -54.21

BONTQ vs DBHSF: Debt-to-EBITDA Comparison

For the Department Stores subindustry, The Bon-Ton Stores's Debt-to-EBITDA, along with its competitors' market caps and Debt-to-EBITDA data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


The Bon-Ton Stores Debt-to-EBITDA vs Retail - Cyclical Industry

For the Retail - Cyclical industry and Consumer Cyclical sector, The Bon-Ton Stores's Debt-to-EBITDA distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where The Bon-Ton Stores's Debt-to-EBITDA falls into.



The Bon-Ton Stores Debt-to-EBITDA Calculation

Debt-to-EBITDA measures a company's ability to pay off its debt.

The Bon-Ton Stores's Debt-to-EBITDA for the fiscal year that ended in Jan. 2017 is calculated as

Debt-to-EBITDA=Total Debt / EBITDA
=(Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation) / EBITDA
=(6.685 + 982.634) / 98.261
=10.07

The Bon-Ton Stores's annualized Debt-to-EBITDA for the quarter that ended in Oct. 2017 is calculated as

Debt-to-EBITDA=Total Debt / EBITDA
=(Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation) / EBITDA
=(671.718 + 474.021) / -21.136
=-54.21

* 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.

In the calculation of annual Debt-to-EBITDA, the EBITDA of the last fiscal year is used. In calculating the annualized quarterly data, the EBITDA data used here is four times the quarterly (Oct. 2017) EBITDA data.

Frequently Asked Questions Learn more about Debt-to-EBITDA →
What does a Debt-to-EBITDA of -54.21 mean?
The Bon-Ton Stores (BONTQ) has a Debt-to-EBITDA of -54.21 as of Oct. 2017. Debt-to-EBITDA ratio represents the ratio of total debt to total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. View historical data on The Bon-Ton Stores.
Is The Bon-Ton Stores' Debt-to-EBITDA too high?
The Bon-Ton Stores' current Debt-to-EBITDA is -54.21.
How does The Bon-Ton Stores' Debt-to-EBITDA compare to DBHSF?
The Bon-Ton Stores' Debt-to-EBITDA of -54.21 can be compared against companies in the Retail - Cyclical industry. The industry median Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.27. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Debt-to-EBITDA for a Retail - Cyclical company?
The median Debt-to-EBITDA among Retail - Cyclical companies is 2.27, based on 910 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Debt-to-EBITDA significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Debt-to-EBITDA should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Debt-to-EBITDA mean?
A high Debt-to-EBITDA can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Debt-to-EBITDA ratio represents the ratio of total debt to total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. View historical data on The Bon-Ton Stores. For the Retail - Cyclical industry, the median Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.27 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. The Bon-Ton Stores's current Debt-to-EBITDA is -54.21. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is The Bon-Ton Stores stock overvalued right now?
The Bon-Ton Stores (BONTQ) has a current Debt-to-EBITDA of -54.21. The current Debt-to-EBITDA is -54.21. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Debt-to-EBITDA calculated?
Debt-to-EBITDA is calculated from a company's financial statements. For The Bon-Ton Stores (BONTQ), the current Debt-to-EBITDA is -54.21 as of Oct. 2017. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.

The Bon-Ton Stores Business Description

Address 2801 East Market Street, York, PA, USA, 17402
The Bon-Ton Stores Inc operates is a department store operator in the United States. It offers a range of brand-name fashion apparel and accessories for women, men, and children, through stores in the United States. Its nationally distributed brand assortment includes a range of labels in the apparel, accessories, footwear, cosmetics and home furnishings industries, such as Anne Klein, Calvin Klein, Carters, Chaps, Clarks, Clinique, Coach, Estee Lauder and Others.