Smith & Nephew (CHIX:SNL) Debt-to-EBITDA : 2.01 (As of Dec. 2025) — 17% Below Median

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CHIX:SNL Smith & Nephew PLC CHIX:SNL
85 GF Score
Price £11.68
GF Value £12.05
Valuation Fairly Valued
! 3 Warning Signs
View Full Analysis

What is Smith & Nephew Debt-to-EBITDA?

Smith & Nephew CHIX:SNL +2.21% 85 Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.01 as of Dec. 2025, which is 17% below its 10-year median of 2.43. GuruFocus rates CHIX:SNL with a GF Score™ of 85/100 and a GF Value™ of £12.05 (Fairly Valued). The stock has 3 warning signs investors should review. Among 467 Medical Devices & Instruments companies, Smith & Nephew ranks worse than 59.74% on this metric.

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

Smith & Nephew's Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2025 was £112 Mil. Smith & Nephew's Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2025 was £2,373 Mil. Smith & Nephew's annualized EBITDA for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2025 was £1,237 Mil. Smith & Nephew's annualized Debt-to-EBITDA for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2025 was 2.01.

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 Smith & Nephew's Debt-to-EBITDA or its related term are showing as below:

CHIX:SNl' s Debt-to-EBITDA Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 1.04   Med: 2.43   Max: 4.26
Current: 2.19

During the past 13 years, the highest Debt-to-EBITDA Ratio of Smith & Nephew was 4.26. The lowest was 1.04. And the median was 2.43.

CHIX:SNl's Debt-to-EBITDA is ranked worse than
59.74% of 467 companies
in the Medical Devices & Instruments industry
Industry Median: 1.6 vs CHIX:SNl: 2.19

Smith & Nephew  (CHIX:SNl) 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.


Smith & Nephew Debt-to-EBITDA Related Terms


Smith & Nephew Debt-to-EBITDA Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Smith & Nephew'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.

Smith & Nephew Debt-to-EBITDA Chart

Smith & Nephew Annual Data
Trend Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23 Dec24 Dec25
Debt-to-EBITDA
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 2.69 3.29 3.23 2.72 2.17

Smith & Nephew Semi-Annual Data
Jun16 Dec16 Jun17 Dec17 Jun18 Dec18 Jun19 Dec19 Jun20 Dec20 Jun21 Dec21 Jun22 Dec22 Jun23 Dec23 Jun24 Dec24 Jun25 Dec25
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 3.88 3.07 2.66 2.45 2.01

CHIX:SNL vs ABT, SYK, MDT: Debt-to-EBITDA Comparison

For the Medical Devices subindustry, Smith & Nephew'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.


Smith & Nephew Debt-to-EBITDA vs Medical Devices & Instruments Industry

For the Medical Devices & Instruments industry and Healthcare sector, Smith & Nephew's Debt-to-EBITDA distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Smith & Nephew's Debt-to-EBITDA falls into.


CHIX:SNL
85GF Score
Smith & Nephew PLC CHIX:SNL
Debt-to-EBITDA is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

Smith & Nephew Debt-to-EBITDA Calculation

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

Smith & Nephew's Debt-to-EBITDA for the fiscal year that ended in Dec. 2025 is calculated as

Debt-to-EBITDA=Total Debt / EBITDA
=(Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation) / EBITDA
=(112.05 + 2373.219) / 1144.404
=2.17

Smith & Nephew's annualized Debt-to-EBITDA for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2025 is calculated as

Debt-to-EBITDA=Total Debt / EBITDA
=(Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation) / EBITDA
=(112.05 + 2373.219) / 1237.032
=2.01

* 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 two times the quarterly (Dec. 2025) EBITDA data.

Frequently Asked Questions Learn more about Debt-to-EBITDA →
What does a Debt-to-EBITDA of 2.01 mean?
Smith & Nephew (CHIX:SNL) has a Debt-to-EBITDA of 2.01 as of Dec. 2025. Debt-to-EBITDA ratio represents the ratio of total debt to total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. View historical data on Smith & Nephew. This is 17% below median its historical median of 2.43. Over the past decade, Smith & Nephew's Debt-to-EBITDA has ranged from 1.04 to 4.26. According to the industry distribution chart, Smith & Nephew ranks #279 out of 467 companies in the Medical Devices & Instruments industry, placing it in the top 59.7%.
Is Smith & Nephew's Debt-to-EBITDA too high?
Smith & Nephew's current Debt-to-EBITDA of 2.01 is 17% below median its 10-year median of 2.43. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 1.04 to a high of 4.26. The Medical Devices & Instruments industry median Debt-to-EBITDA is 1.60. Smith & Nephew's value of 2.01 is 25.6% above this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Smith & Nephew ranks #279 out of 467 companies in the Medical Devices & Instruments industry, which is below the industry midpoint. Overall, Smith & Nephew has a GF Score™ of 85/100 and is considered Fairly Valued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Smith & Nephew's Debt-to-EBITDA compare to ABT and SYK?
According to the Medical Devices & Instruments industry distribution chart, Smith & Nephew ranks #279 out of 467 companies for Debt-to-EBITDA. This places Smith & Nephew in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Debt-to-EBITDA is 1.60. Smith & Nephew's value of 2.01 is 25.6% above this benchmark. Historically, Smith & Nephew's own Debt-to-EBITDA has ranged from 1.04 to 4.26 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 2.43 vs. the industry median of 1.60, Smith & Nephew has consistently been above the industry average. 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 Medical Devices & Instruments company?
The median Debt-to-EBITDA among Medical Devices & Instruments companies is 1.60, based on 467 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. Smith & Nephew's current Debt-to-EBITDA of 2.01 is 25.6% above the industry median. 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 Smith & Nephew. For the Medical Devices & Instruments industry, the median Debt-to-EBITDA is 1.60 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Smith & Nephew's current Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.01, which is 17% below median its own 10-year median of 2.43. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Smith & Nephew stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Smith & Nephew (CHIX:SNL) is currently considered Fairly Valued. The stock's GF Value™ is £12.05, compared to a current price of £11.68 — trading 3.1% below its estimated fair value. The current Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.01, which is 17% below median its 10-year median of 2.43 and 25.6% above the Medical Devices & Instruments industry median of 1.60. Smith & Nephew's overall GF Score™ is 85/100 with 3 warning signs to review. 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 Smith & Nephew (CHIX:SNL), the current Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.01 as of Dec. 2025. 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.

Is Smith & Nephew (CHIX:SNL) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Smith & Nephew stock appears to be undervalued. The current stock price of £11.68 is trading 3.1% below its estimated GF Value™ of £12.05. GuruFocus considers Smith & Nephew to be Fairly Valued.

Key valuation signals for CHIX:SNL:

  • Debt-to-EBITDA: 2.01 (17% below median its 10-year median of 2.43)
  • GF Value™: £12.05 vs. price of £11.68 (3.1% below fair value)
  • GF Score™: 85/100 with 3 warning signs
  • Industry Position: 25.6% above the Medical Devices & Instruments median (#279 of 467)

No single metric tells the full story. See the CHIX:SNL stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


Smith & Nephew Business Description

Address Hatters Lane, Building 5, Croxley Park, Watford, Hertfordshire, GBR, WD18 8YE
Smith & Nephew designs, manufactures, and markets orthopedic devices, sports medicine and arthroscopic technologies, and wound care solutions. Roughly 41% of the UK-based firm's revenue comes from orthopedic products, and another 30% is sports medicine and ENT. The remaining 29% of revenue is from the advanced wound therapy segment. Over half of Smith & Nephew's total revenue comes from the United States, just over 30% is from other developed markets, and emerging markets account for the remainder.
85GF Score

Get the complete analysis for CHIX:SNL

Debt-to-EBITDA is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.

£11.68
Price
£12.05
GF Value