Line
Median Net Debt to EBITDA
Net debt (total debt less cash) divided by EBITDA over the last four quarters, median non-financial company, times
Plays the chart through its history. Pauses are where the data set a record or moved most.
Palanor calculation from SEC EDGAR XBRL 10-Q and 10-K filings: EBIT is operating income over the last four fiscal quarters, interest is interest expense (cash interest paid where none is tagged), net debt is total debt less cash. Financial companies (SEC SIC 6000 to 6799, except real estate and REITs) are left out. Each reading uses only what companies had filed with the SEC by its date, as first reported, so it mostly reflects the previous quarter’s balance sheets. Index membership before late September 2026 is today’s constituents carried back, so older readings leave out companies that later left the index. Companies with zero or negative EBITDA are left out.
How many years of operating earnings the typical large company would need to pay off its debt net of cash. Lenders and rating agencies watch it; a rising median means companies carry more debt for what they earn.
What this chart reads
- S&P 500 Median Net Debt to EBITDAas “S&P 500”latest 2026-09-30
- Russell 1000 Median Net Debt to EBITDAas “Russell 1000”latest 2026-09-30
Sources
S&P 500 Median Net Debt to EBITDA. Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, EDGAR XBRL financial data (companyfacts API, data.sec.gov) from each company's 10-K and 10-Q filings; calculated by Palanor. SEC filings are public information: "Information presented on sec.gov is considered public information and may be copied or further distributed by users of the web site without the SEC's permission" (sec.gov/privacy).
Russell 1000 Median Net Debt to EBITDA. Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, EDGAR XBRL financial data (companyfacts API, data.sec.gov) from each company's 10-K and 10-Q filings; calculated by Palanor. SEC filings are public information: "Information presented on sec.gov is considered public information and may be copied or further distributed by users of the web site without the SEC's permission" (sec.gov/privacy).
Charts are drawn from Palanor's signal library and recomputed from source data on every view. Transformations (changes, indexing, year-on-year rates) are Palanor's.