Gearing

The most common use of the term 'gearing' is to describe the level of a company's net debt (net of cash or cash equivalents) compared with its equity capital, and usually it is expressed as a percentage. So a company with gearing of 60 per cent has levels of debt that are 60 per cent of its equity capital. The gearing ratio shows how encumbered a company is with debt. Depending on the industry, a gearing ratio of 15% would be considered prudent while anything over 100% would be considered risky or 'highly geared'. 'Gearing' is also used in a related sense to refer to borrowings by an investment trust that boosts the return on capital and income via additional investment. When the trust is performing well shareholders enjoy an enhanced or 'geared profit'. However if the trust performs poorly then the loss is similarly exaggerated. Gearing can also refer to the ratio between a company's share price and its warrant price.