Debt-to-Equity Ratio

A debt-to-equity ratio compares a company’s total liabilities to its shareholders’ equity; at 3.94x, KMB has nearly $4 of debt for every $1 of equity, indicating heavy reliance on borrowed funds.

This is far above the sector median of 0.73x, placing KMB in the 96th percentile among its peers — meaning only 4% of comparable companies carry more debt relative to equity. Because historical trend data is not available (year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter changes are both listed as N/A), there is no direction to assess from recent periods. The combination of a very high debt level with no visible trend makes it unclear whether leverage is rising or falling, but the extreme level alone suggests elevated financial risk. This metric directly supports the overall CAUTIOUS verdict, as a debt-to-equity ratio nearly 5.4 times the sector median signals potential vulnerability to interest-rate changes or economic downturns.

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