Gearing Ratios: What Is a Good Ratio, and How To Calculate It (2024)

A gearing ratio is a general classification describing a financial ratio that compares some form of ownerequity(or capital) to funds borrowed by the company.Gearingis a measurement of a company'sfinancialleverage,and the gearingratio is one of the most popular methods of evaluating a company's financial fitness.

Key Takeaways

  • A gearing ratio is a general classification describing a financial ratio that compares some form of ownerequity(or capital) to funds borrowed by the company.
  • Net gearing can also be calculated bydividing the total debtby the total shareholders' equity.
  • Anoptimal gearing ratio is primarilydetermined by the individual company relative to other companies within the same industry.

Gearing Ratio

Though there are several variations, the most common ratio measures how much a company is funded by debt versus how much is financedby equity,often called the net gearing ratio.A high gearing ratio means the company has a largerproportion of debt versusequity. Conversely, alow gearing ratio means the company has a smallproportion of debt versusequity.

Capital gearingis a British term that refers to the amount of debt a company has relative to its equity. In the United States, capital gearing is known as financial leverageand is synonymous withthe net gearing ratio.

See Also
Engrenage

1:27

What Is A Good Gearing Ratio?

How toCalculate the Net Gearing Ratio

The net gearing ratio is calculated by:

NetGearingRatio=LTD+STD+BankOverdraftsShareholders’Equitywhere:LTD=Long-TermDebtSTD=Short-TermDebt\begin{aligned} &\text{Net Gearing Ratio} = \frac { \text{LTD} + \text{STD} + \text{Bank Overdrafts} }{ \text{Shareholders' Equity} } \\ &\textbf{where:} \\ &\text{LTD} = \text{Long-Term Debt} \\ &\text{STD} = \text{Short-Term Debt} \\ \end{aligned}NetGearingRatio=Shareholders’EquityLTD+STD+BankOverdraftswhere:LTD=Long-TermDebtSTD=Short-TermDebt

Net gearing can also be calculated bydividing the total debtby the total shareholders' equity.Theratio, expressed as a percentage, reflects the amount of existing equity that would be required to pay off all outstanding debts.

Good andBad Gearing Ratios

Anoptimal gearing ratio is primarilydetermined by the individual company relative to other companies within the same industry. However, here are a fewbasic guidelines for good and bad gearing ratios:

  • Agearing ratio higher than 50% is typically considered highly levered or geared. As a result, the company would be at greaterfinancial risk, because during times of lowerprofits and higherinterest rates, the company would be more susceptible to loan default andbankruptcy.
  • A gearing ratio lower than 25%is typically considered low-risk by both investors and lenders.
  • A gearing ratio between 25% and50% is typically considered optimal ornormal for well-established companies.

What Does the Gearing Ratio Say About Risk?

The gearingratio is an indicator of thefinancial risk associated witha company. If a company has too much debt, it can fallinto financial distress.

A high gearing ratio shows a high proportion of debt to equity, while a low gearing ratio shows the opposite. Capitalthat comes from creditors is riskier than the money that comes from the company'sownerssince creditors still have to be paid back regardless of whether the business is generating income. Both lenders and investors scrutinize a company'sgearing ratios because theyreflectthe levels of risk involved with thecompany.A company with too much debtmight be at risk ofdefault or bankruptcyespecially if theloans havevariable interest rates and there's asudden jump inrates.

However, debt financing, or the use of leverage,is not necessarily ared flag. Ifinvested properly, debt can help a company expand its operations, add new products and services,and ultimately boostprofits. Conversely, a companythat never borrows might be missing out on anopportunity to grow their business by not takingadvantageof a cheapform of financing, if interest ratesare low.

It's important to compare a company's gearing ratio to companies in the same industry. Companies that are capital intensive or have a lot of fixed assets, like industrials, are likely to have more debt versuscompanies with fewer fixed assets.

For example, utilities would typically haveahigh gearing ratiobutmight be considered acceptable since it's a regulated industry. Utilities have a monopoly in their market-making their debtless risky than a company with the same debt levels, whichoperates in acompetitive market.

Bottom Line

Typically, a lowgearing ratio means a company is financially stable, butnot all debt is bad debt.

It's essentialfor companies to manage their debt levels. However, it's also important that companies put their assetson their balance sheets to work, including usingdebt toboost earnings andprofits for theirshareholders.

A safe gearing ratio can vary from company to companyand is largely determinedby how a company's debt is managed and how well the company is performing.Many factors should be considered when analyzing gearing ratiossuch as earnings growth, market share, and the cash flow of the company.

It's also worth considering thatwell-established companies might be able to pay off their debt by issuing equityif needed. In other words, having debt on their balance sheet might be a strategic business decisionsince it might mean less equity financing. Fewer shares outstanding can result inlessshare dilution and potentially lead to anelevatedstock price.

Gearing Ratios: What Is a Good Ratio, and How To Calculate It (2024)

FAQs

Gearing Ratios: What Is a Good Ratio, and How To Calculate It? ›

A gearing ratio between 25% and 50% is typically considered optimal or normal for well-established companies. A gearing ratio lower than 25% is typically considered low-risk by both investors and lenders.

What is 2.5 gearing ratio? ›

A gear ratio of 2.5:1 means that there is a reduction, so that the prop shaft turns 0.4 times for every revolution of the engine drive shaft. A higher gear ratio (say, 2.5:1 compared to 1.75:1) has more reduction, and means a comparatively slower prop shaft and more torque at the prop shaft.

What is an example of a gearing ratio calculation? ›

Let's say a company is in debt by a total of $2 billion and currently hold $1 billion in shareholder equity – the gearing ratio is 2, or 200%. This means that for every $1 in shareholder equity, the company has $2 in debt. This would be considered an extremely high gearing ratio.

Is it better to have a higher gearing ratio? ›

A high gearing ratio typically indicates a high degree of leverage, although this does not always indicate a company is in poor financial condition. Instead, a company with a high gearing ratio has a riskier financing structure than a company with a lower gearing ratio.

What is gearing ratio of 70%? ›

The appropriate level of gearing for a company depends on its sector and the degree of leverage of its corporate peers. For example, a gearing ratio of 70% shows that a company's debt levels are 70% of its equity.

Is gearing ratio 4 good? ›

A gearing ratio between 25% and 50% is typically considered optimal or normal for well-established companies. A gearing ratio lower than 25% is typically considered low-risk by both investors and lenders.

What is a 5 2 1 gear ratio good for? ›

The low gear ratios like 5.2:1 and 5.3:1 are great for fishing baits that pull hard like deep crankbaits, big swimbaits, and deep water spinnerbaits. The low gear ratio helps you reel the bait slower, keeping it in the strike zone longer when fishing moving baits in the deep water.

What is gearing ratio for dummies? ›

A gear ratio is the ratio of the number of rotations of a driver gear to the number of rotations of a driven gear. A colon is often used to show a gear ratio: gear ratio = rotations of a driver gear : rotations of a driven gear. For every rotation of the 45-tooth gear, the 15-tooth gear must rotate 3 times.

How to calculate gear ratio? ›

The gear ratio is calculated by dividing the output speed by the input speed (i= Ws/ We) or by dividing the number of teeth of the driving gear by the number of teeth of the driven gear (i= Ze/ Zs).

What is a good current ratio? ›

Current Ratio

The current liabilities refer to the business' financial obligations that are payable within a year. Obviously, a higher current ratio is better for the business. A good current ratio is between 1.2 to 2, which means that the business has 2 times more current assets than liabilities to covers its debts.

Do you want a higher or lower gear ratio? ›

Is it better to have a higher or lower gear ratio? A higher gear ratio is good when you need more acceleration to cruise your vehicle, whereas a lower gear ratio provides more torque to get the vehicle moving from a resting position.

Why is high gearing good? ›

Wealth accumulation – accelerated wealth creation by investing a larger amount than an investor could have otherwise invested using their own money. Potentially pay less income tax – interest and other costs of gearing may be tax deductible, and could potentially reduce taxable income.

Is shorter gearing better? ›

Choosing your right gearing is all about 'compromise'. A lower (taller) gear ratio provides a higher top speed, and a higher (shorter) gear ratio provides faster acceleration. . Besides the gears in the transmission, there is also a gear in the rear differential.

What does gearing ratio 60% mean? ›

It is a fundamental analysis ratio of a firm's level of long-term debt as compared to its equity capital. For example, a 60% gearing ratio implies that debts are make up 60% of the company's equity capital.

Can gearing be above 100%? ›

The gearing ratio shows how encumbered a company is with debt. Depending on the industry, a gearing ratio of 15% might be considered prudent, while anything over 100% would certainly be considered risky or 'highly geared'.

What is 80 20 gearing ratio? ›

80/20 Ratio refers to the Project being financed 80% by total Debt financing pursuant to Senior Commercial Debt and 20% by total equity financing as contemplated by section 6.1 of the Processing Agreements, or such other lower ratio of total Debt financing to total equity financing as agreed by the Lenders from time to ...

Is a 4.10 gear ratio good? ›

a 4.10 has a huge impact on engine rpm because you are selecting second gear with a 3.73 to pull the grade, but you can hit third gear with a 4.10. Your engine speed is about 1,000 rpm lower, so temperatures under hood are going to be significantly lower. Higher numerical ratios often increase fuel consumption.

How do you address high gearing? ›

How can companies reduce their gearing?
  1. Selling shares. Releasing more shares to the public to increase shareholder equity, which can be used to pay the company's debt.
  2. Converting loans. ...
  3. Reducing operational costs. ...
  4. Increase profits.

What is a 7 1 1 gear ratio good for? ›

7.1:1 to 9.0:1 – This has become the reel speed range we use most often. This reel gets used for Flippin', Froggin', deep jigs, swim jigs in warmer weather, soft plastic stickbaits, topwater and late season jerkbaits.

What is 6 4 1 gear ratio good for? ›

Medium Gear Ratio Applications

Ratios of around 6:1 or 6:4 present a wide variety of baits and are often used with shallow spinnerbait presentations, square-billed crankbaits, medium-depth cranks in general, and castable umbrella rigs.

What is a 6 3 1 gear ratio best for? ›

Fishing reels with a gear ratio of 6.3:1 means the spool rotates 6.3 times for every 360-degree turn of the reel handle. Baitcast reels offer a wider range of gear ratios than spinning models for spinning rods.

What is 1 3 gearing ratio? ›

A 1:3 gearing ratio means the input gear rotates 3 times for each rotation of the output gear - hence you need the number of teeth on the output gear to be three times the number of the input gear.

What is 2 1 gearing ratio? ›

2:1 means two rotations of the driver gear cause one rotation of the follower gear. This is reduction - the speed is decreased 2 times, the torque is increased 2 times. You get half of the speed but double torque.

What is 1 1 gearing ratio? ›

Gear Ratios

If we have a chainring with 30 teeth and a sprocket with 30 teeth, there is no difference between the two; one full revolution of the pedals will result in one full revolution of the wheel. As a ratio, this is 1 to 1 (1:1).

What is a 5 to 1 gear ratio? ›

The driving gear has fewer teeth than the driven gear. For example, if a motor drives a 12T gear to a driven 60T gear on an arm, the 12T driving gear has to rotate 5 times to rotate the 60T driven gear once. This is known as a 5:1 ratio.

What is the formula for gears? ›

The gear ratio i=d2/d1. d1 and d2 refer to the reference diameters of 2 mating gears (gear 1 is the driving gear, and gear 2 is the driven gear).

Is gear ratio always greater than 1? ›

For continuous transmission of motion, at least one tooth of one wheel must be in contact with another tooth of the second wheel therefore contact ratio must always be greater than or equal to 1.

Why is 1.5 a good current ratio? ›

A good current ratio varies by industry, but a common rule of thumb is that it should be above 1.5. This means that for every $1 of short-term debt, the company has $1.50 in short-term assets to cover it. A high current ratio may indicate that a company is overstocked or is not efficiently using its working capital.

What is a bad current ratio? ›

What is a bad current ratio? In general, a current ratio below 1.00 suggests that a company's debts due in a year or less are greater than its assets. This could indicate that the company may struggle to meet its short-term obligations.

What is too high for a current ratio? ›

As a general rule, a current ratio below 1.00 could indicate that a company might struggle to meet its short-term obligations, whereas ratios of above 1.00 might indicate a company is able to pay its current debts as they come due.

What is a typical gear ratio? ›

A typical gear ratio is 1.882:1. Speed is increased and power decreased slightly. Third Gear. Third gear is slightly smaller than the second, but still enmeshed with a smaller gear.

Which gear is higher 1 or 5? ›

This has nothing to do with the direction you move the gear lever, it simply means that you change to a higher gear (4 or 5) or a lower gear (1 or 2). The basic rule is that you change up through the gears as the speed of the car increases and down when you need more power from the engine.

Is short gearing better than long gearing? ›

Tall gearing helps to ride at low engine speeds comfortably, thus returning a decent amount of fuel efficiency in the long run. Short gearing tends to reduce mileage as the engine attains high speeds frequently, thus consuming more fuel.

What is the difference between high and low gear ratios? ›

Gear ratios can be boiled down to a single statement: Higher ratios (with a lower numerical value) give better torque/acceleration and lower ratios allow for higher top speeds and better fuel economy. Higher ratios mean the engine has to run faster to achieve a given speed.

What happens if gearing ratio is negative? ›

A negatively geared asset is one that does not produce enough income to cover its cost at the moment. An investor who is negative gearing expects to gain from tax benefits in the short term and to eventually sell the asset at a higher price to make up for the initial losses.

What does a 4 11 gear ratio mean? ›

The ratio is the number of teeth on the driven gear (ring) divided by the number of teeth on the drive gear (pinion). So, if the ring gear has 37 teeth and the pinion has 9 teeth, the ratio is 4.11:1. That also means that for every one turn of the ring gear, the pinion will turn 4.11 times. What Do Gears Do?

What does 4.56 gear ratio mean? ›

Short (low) gears have HIGHER numerical numbers, such as 4.11, 4.30, 4.56, 4.88, 5.13, 5.36, etc. In simple terms, the numbers mean how many turns of the drive shaft to one turn of the rear wheel.

What is the most efficient gear ratio for speed? ›

For flat places, a ratio of 2.6 to 3.0 is ideal for most people. The lower value of this range, with a cadence of 90 rpm, will allow us to ride around 30km/h, while the upper, 34km/h. If you're just starting out on your adventure on a single speed or fixed gear bike, a gear ratio of around 2.7-2.8 will be ideal.

How to make a 60 to 1 gear ratio? ›

If a gearbox contains 3:1, 4:1 and 5:1 gear sets, the total ratio is 60:1 (3 x 4 x 5 = 60). In our example above, the 3,450 rpm electric motor would have its speed reduced to 57.5 rpm by using a 60:1 gearbox.

Is leverage the same as gearing? ›

At a fundamental level, gearing is sometimes differentiated from leverage. Leverage refers to the amount of debt incurred for the purpose of investing and obtaining a higher return, while gearing refers to debt along with total equity—or an expression of the percentage of company funding through borrowing.

What does 100 1 gear ratio mean? ›

A 100:1 transmission means that the torque you are generating is being divided by 100. If the resulting torque is less than what is needed to move the bike, then you won't be able to turn the pedals.

Is gearing the same as debt-to-equity ratio? ›

The Debt to Equity ratio (also called the “debt-equity ratio”, “risk ratio”, or “gearing”), is a leverage ratio that calculates the weight of total debt and financial liabilities against total shareholders' equity.

What is a 10 to 20 gear ratio? ›

The gear ratio is the ratio of input teeth to output teeth (e.g., with 10 teeth on the input and 20 teeth on the output, the gear ratio is 10/20 or 0.5 : 1 .

What is 2.875 gear ratio? ›

The gear ratio of 46:16, for example, may be represented as 2.875 when expressed as a decimal. (You'll get 2.875 if you divide 46 by 16 on your calculator). This implies that, with this 46:16 gear ratio, the rear wheel does over three (2.875) complete spins with each revolution or rotation of the cranks.

What does 4 10 gearing mean? ›

Gear Ratio: the ratio of the ring and pinion gears in the rear axle. So, if you have a 4.10:1 (sometimes 4.10) rear axle, the pinion will turn 4.10 times for every single turn of the ring gear or in other words, for every 4.10 turns of the driveshaft, the rear wheel will spin once.

Is A 2.5 gear ratio good? ›

For flat places, a ratio of 2.6 to 3.0 is ideal for most people. The lower value of this range, with a cadence of 90 rpm, will allow us to ride around 30km/h, while the upper, 34km/h. If you're just starting out on your adventure on a single speed or fixed gear bike, a gear ratio of around 2.7-2.8 will be ideal.

What do you mean by gearing ratio? ›

The gearing ratio measures the proportion of a company's borrowed funds to its equity. The ratio indicates the financial risk to which a business is subjected, since excessive debt can lead to financial difficulties.

What is 3.73 gearing for? ›

A numerically higher axle ratio provides a mechanical advantage to send more of the engine's available torque to the rear tires (and front tires, in a four-wheel drive vehicle), but you pay the price at the fuel pump. So, a truck with optional 3.73 gears will tow a heavier trailer than one with 3.55 or 3.21.

What is a gearing ratio? ›

Gearing (otherwise known as "leverage") measures the proportion of assets invested in a business that are financed by long-term borrowing.

What does a 3.0 gear ratio mean? ›

The ratio indicates the input speed versus the output speed. For example, a ratio of 3.0:1 means that the driveshaft completes three full revolutions for every one rotation of the wheels; likewise, 4.0:1 is four driveshaft rotations for every single wheel rotation.

What is a 3.90 gear ratio? ›

Technically, ratios should be written as 3.90:1 , which means the driveline turns 3.9 times for every one turn of the wheels. So, the lower the axle ratio, the faster the truck will move. An axle's ratio is determined by the number of teeth on the ring gear and the pinion gear.

Is a 7.1 1 gear ratio good? ›

Gear ratios on most brands of baitcast reels range from 5.0:1 to 9.1:1. The pros use high speed models (7.1:1 to 9.1:1) for most applications because they know it is easier to slow down a retrieve with a fast reel than it is to crank faster with a low-speed model.

How do you read gear ratio? ›

A gear ratio is the ratio of the number of rotations of a driver gear to the number of rotations of a driven gear. A colon is often used to show a gear ratio: gear ratio = rotations of a driver gear : rotations of a driven gear. For every rotation of the 45-tooth gear, the 15-tooth gear must rotate 3 times.

What does a 4.10 gear ratio mean? ›

Gear Ratio: the ratio of the ring and pinion gears in the rear axle. So, if you have a 4.10:1 (sometimes 4.10) rear axle, the pinion will turn 4.10 times for every single turn of the ring gear or in other words, for every 4.10 turns of the driveshaft, the rear wheel will spin once.

What is a 4.10 gear ratio good for? ›

The larger the trailer or load, the higher (numerically) the optimum axle ratio. Pickups towing big 5th wheel trailers do well equipped with 4.10:1 axle ratios.

What is a good debt ratio? ›

If your debt ratio does not exceed 30%, the banks will find it excellent. Your ratio shows that if you manage your daily expenses well, you should be able to pay off your debts without worry or penalty. A debt ratio between 30% and 36% is also considered good.

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