Debt to Capital Ratio
Calculate the debt to capital ratio, a solvency ratio that measures the proportion of a company’s total capital (debt plus equity) that is financed by debt.
Unlike the debt to equity ratio, which can theoretically exceed one or become negative with low or negative equity, the debt to capital ratio is bounded between 0 and 1 under normal circumstances, making it easier to compare across companies with very different capital structures.
The formula is as follows:
\[\text{Debt to Capital Ratio} = \text{Total Debt} / (\text{Total Debt} + \text{Total Equity})\]Also known as: capitalization ratio.
Debt to Capital Ratio in Python or via the MCP
Install the Finance Toolkit with:
pip install financetoolkit -U
Then call get_debt_to_capital_ratio as shown below.
from financetoolkit import Toolkit
toolkit = Toolkit(
["BMY", "AMGN", "GILD"],
api_key="FINANCIAL_MODELING_PREP_KEY",
start_date="2021-01-01",
end_date="2025-12-31",
)
toolkit.ratios.get_debt_to_capital_ratio()
Or, after setting up the Finance Toolkit MCP, ask:
What share of their capital did Bristol-Myers Squibb, Amgen and Gilead finance with debt from 2021 to 2025?
Which returns:
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMGN | 0.8325 | 0.9141 | 0.912 | 0.9109 | 0.8631 |
| BMY | 0.5588 | 0.5668 | 0.5844 | 0.7575 | 0.7181 |
| GILD | 0.559 | 0.5433 | 0.5234 | 0.5812 | 0.5244 |
Parameters
get_debt_to_capital_ratio accepts the following parameters.
| Parameter | Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
rounding | int | None | The number of decimals to round the results to. Defaults to None, which uses the rounding of the Toolkit (4 unless set otherwise). | 2 |
growth | bool | Whether to calculate the growth of the ratios. Defaults to False. | True |
lag | int | list[int] | The lag to use for the growth calculation. Defaults to 1. | 4 |
compound | bool | Whether the growth is the compound annual growth rate over the lag (e.g. lag=5 for the five-year CAGR) instead of the total change. Defaults to False. | False |
standardize | bool | Whether to standardize (Z-Score) the result. When combined with growth=True, standardizes the growth values instead of the raw values. Defaults to False. | True |
trailing | int | The number of periods to sum flows (income and cash flow statement items) over, with balance sheet items averaged over the same number of period ends. E.g. 4 with quarterly data gives the trailing twelve months (TTM) and 3 with annual data a three-year cumulative figure. Defaults to None, which uses single-period flows (per quarter and not annualized with quarterly data). | 4 |