EDITION 5

Janus Henderson
Corporate Debt Index

The Corporate Debt Index is a long-term study into trends in company indebtedness around the world, the investment opportunities this provides and the risks it presents.

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Companies paid a record
US$458bn
in interest in 2023/24,

up 24.4% year-on-year

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Higher
interest

costs consumed
one eighth (12.4%)

of operating profits
in 2023/24

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Janus Henderson
expects borrowing levels to continue to rise in 2024/25 but at an even slower pace,

up by 2.5% to a record US$8.38 trillion

Glossary

Bond A bond is parcel of debt. By buying a bond, investors give money to a borrower, usually for a fixed term and for a fixed rate of interest. Bonds can be bought and sold on financial markets, and the value changes over time with varying market conditions.
Cyclical Industry The revenues and profits of an industry rise and fall over the course of an economic cycle.
EBIT Earnings before interest and tax, commonly called operating profit.
Equity The amount of money left over for shareholders if all a company’s assets were liquidated and its assets sold off.
Gearing The ratio of debt to equity finance on the balance sheet – not to the market value of the shares; also called leverage.
Leverage The ratio of debt to equity finance on the balance sheet – not to the market value of the shares; also called gearing.
Net Debt All borrowings minus any cash or cash equivalents.
Running Yield The interest paid on a bond divided by its current market value.
Volatility Rapid, unpredictable, changeability.
Yield to Maturity The interest paid on a bond divided by its current market value, taking account of the capital gain or loss that will occur when the bond matures and is repaid.

Janus Henderson Corporate Debt Index, Edition 5

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