The Income|Outcome^® Contextuary

“What do you mean by that?”

‘Debt’ can have wildly different meanings, here are some possibilities:

1. In published Financial Statements, Debt refers to Interest-bearing liabilities such as Loans. It does not include non-interest bearing liabilities such as Payables and Pensions.
2. In the Debt-to-Equity ratio, Debt refers to the total Liabilities listed on the Balance Sheet . It includes both interest-bearing and non-interest bearing liabilities.
3. Another meaning is only the Long-term Liabilities listed on the Balance Sheet.

Make sure you agree on the meaning!

See the discussion at Leverage.