How are the values computed?

From the reported filings of all visible Fair Value Calculator stocks; the 25th, 50th and 75th percentile per sector and industry, as of October 22, 2026.

Valuation multiples › Debt-to-equity

Debt-to-equity by sector and industry

Debt-to-equity ratio: median and quartiles across 11 GICS sectors and 177 industries, from 27,639 valued stocks worldwide.

As of October 22, 2026 · updated daily · CSV JSON

How we calculate it: long-term debt divided by shareholders' equity, from the latest annual balance sheet. Short-term borrowings are not included.

What the numbers show

The lowest sector median is 0.06 (Information Technology, 2,971 values), the highest 0.66 (Utilities, 628 values).

That is a factor of 12.0 between the two: the same ratio means different things in different sectors, so compare within the industry.

The middle sector (Materials) has a median of 0.11; half of its 2,905 stocks sit between 0.01 and 0.32.

Debt-to-equity by sector

Sector	P25	Median	P75	Values
Information Technology	0.00	0.06	0.24	2,971
Health Care	0.00	0.08	0.30	1,884
Communication Services	0.00	0.08	0.51	910
Consumer Discretionary	0.01	0.09	0.35	3,166
Consumer Staples	0.01	0.10	0.36	1,516
Materials	0.01	0.11	0.32	2,905
Industrials	0.01	0.12	0.45	4,776
Energy	0.04	0.25	0.62	820
Financials	0.05	0.26	0.83	2,561
Real Estate	0.12	0.43	0.85	1,666
Utilities	0.15	0.66	1.30	628

Debt-to-equity by industry (177)

Grouped by sector, sorted by median within each sector. Only industries with at least ten valued stocks.

Communication Services (8)

Industry	P25	Median	P75	Values
Media & Publishing	0.00	0.00	0.04	10
Electronic Gaming & Multimedia	0.00	0.01	0.09	87
Publishing	0.00	0.01	0.16	78
Advertising Agencies	0.00	0.04	0.38	147
Internet Content & Information	0.00	0.08	0.29	99
Entertainment	0.01	0.09	0.54	195
Broadcasting	0.01	0.10	0.50	56
Telecom Services	0.02	0.35	1.03	216

Consumer Discretionary (29)

Industry	P25	Median	P75	Values
Apparel Retail	0.00	0.01	0.17	84
Luxury Goods	0.00	0.01	0.11	110
Textile Industrial	0.00	0.02	0.08	12
Apparel Manufacturing	0.00	0.04	0.18	189
Furnishings, Fixtures & Appliances	0.00	0.05	0.18	263
Footwear & Accessories	0.00	0.07	0.27	87
Consumer Electronics	0.00	0.07	0.21	107
Department Stores	0.02	0.09	0.34	96
Auto Parts	0.01	0.10	0.29	599
Education & Training Services	0.00	0.10	0.35	99
Home Improvement Retail	0.01	0.10	0.30	28
Textile Manufacturing	0.01	0.11	0.33	318
Leisure	0.01	0.12	0.33	150
Travel Services	0.01	0.12	0.59	75
Specialty Retail	0.00	0.12	0.52	174
Restaurants	0.00	0.13	0.49	159
Auto Manufacturers	0.04	0.14	0.58	98
Textiles	0.02	0.16	0.25	29
Internet Retail	0.01	0.17	0.51	74
Automobiles & Auto Parts	0.04	0.18	0.41	16
Personal Services	0.00	0.21	0.62	27
Recreational Vehicles	0.03	0.22	0.45	32
Lodging	0.02	0.22	0.61	139
Hotels & Entertainment Services	0.03	0.24	0.65	11
Residential Construction	0.07	0.24	0.66	60
Discount Stores	0.08	0.29	0.83	22
Gambling	0.06	0.29	2.07	36
Auto & Truck Dealerships	0.10	0.30	0.94	77
Resorts & Casinos	0.06	0.35	1.53	59

Consumer Staples (14)

Industry	P25	Median	P75	Values
Household & Personal Products	0.00	0.03	0.30	196
Agricultural Products	0.02	0.05	0.12	12
Pharmaceutical Retailers	0.00	0.06	0.33	43
Food & Tobacco	0.01	0.07	0.27	23
Tobacco	0.00	0.07	0.44	24
Beverages - Brewers	0.01	0.08	0.38	52
Packaged Foods	0.01	0.08	0.32	550
Beverages - Non-Alcoholic	0.00	0.08	0.34	69
Food Products	0.01	0.09	0.35	12
Beverages - Wineries & Distilleries	0.01	0.09	0.35	80
Food Distribution	0.01	0.12	0.35	75
Farm Products	0.02	0.13	0.38	271
Grocery Stores	0.03	0.20	0.43	64
Confectioners	0.05	0.23	0.46	76

Energy (8)

Industry	P25	Median	P75	Values
Uranium	0.01	0.08	0.30	15
Thermal Coal	0.04	0.16	0.56	80
Oil & Gas Equipment & Services	0.04	0.19	0.51	160
Oil & Gas Integrated	0.11	0.27	0.46	42
Oil & Gas E&P	0.07	0.30	0.64	197
Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing	0.05	0.30	0.66	100
Oil & Gas Drilling	0.22	0.40	1.01	30
Oil & Gas Midstream	0.34	0.90	1.84	72

Financials (21)

Industry	P25	Median	P75	Values
Shell Companies	0.00	0.00	0.36	17
Investment Brokerage - National	0.00	0.00	0.02	11
Investment Banking & Investment Services	0.00	0.00	0.07	14
Financial Data & Stock Exchanges	0.00	0.09	0.41	36
Asset Management	0.00	0.10	0.50	433
Diversified Financial Services	0.00	0.10	0.43	14
Capital Markets	0.00	0.11	0.49	362
Banking Services	0.07	0.13	1.34	12
Insurance - Specialty	0.02	0.16	0.23	25
Insurance - Property & Casualty	0.07	0.20	0.31	88
Insurance - Reinsurance	0.05	0.21	0.36	20
Insurance - Diversified	0.03	0.22	0.46	58
Insurance - Life	0.14	0.27	0.54	69
Banks - Regional	0.11	0.31	0.80	916
Financial Conglomerates	0.03	0.32	1.26	48
Insurance Brokers	0.08	0.51	0.74	27
Credit Services	0.13	0.89	2.39	291
Specialized Finance	0.29	0.99	4.91	13
Banks - Diversified	0.37	1.19	2.25	40
Mortgage Finance	0.27	1.53	4.45	51
REIT - Mortgage	0.73	2.00	3.63	35

Health Care (11)

Industry	P25	Median	P75	Values
Health Information Services	0.00	0.04	0.19	83
Pharmaceuticals	0.00	0.04	0.15	51
Medical Devices	0.00	0.04	0.29	269
Biotechnology	0.00	0.06	0.22	375
Medical Distribution	0.00	0.07	0.34	69
Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic	0.01	0.08	0.25	497
Medical Instruments & Supplies	0.01	0.08	0.28	162
Diagnostics & Research	0.00	0.10	0.37	104
Drug Manufacturers - General	0.02	0.16	0.50	66
Medical Care Facilities	0.05	0.20	0.50	208
Healthcare Plans	0.23	0.70	0.79	11

Industrials (31)

Industry	P25	Median	P75	Values
Professional & Commercial Services	0.00	0.01	0.08	13
Machinery, Tools, Heavy Vehicles, Trains & Ships	0.00	0.03	0.08	42
Industrial Machinery	0.00	0.03	0.16	16
Business Equipment & Supplies	0.00	0.04	0.20	68
Construction & Engineering	0.00	0.05	0.19	19
Electrical Equipment & Parts	0.01	0.06	0.25	484
Construction & Engineering	0.04	0.06	0.26	13
Tools & Accessories	0.00	0.07	0.30	109
Specialty Industrial Machinery	0.01	0.08	0.27	698
Staffing & Employment Services	0.00	0.09	0.28	60
Metal Fabrication	0.02	0.10	0.27	234
Pollution & Treatment Controls	0.03	0.11	0.24	71
Building Products & Equipment	0.01	0.11	0.40	237
Engineering & Construction	0.01	0.12	0.46	718
Aerospace & Defense	0.02	0.12	0.48	210
Integrated Freight & Logistics	0.03	0.12	0.41	180
Aerospace & Defense	0.02	0.12	0.32	11
Specialty Business Services	0.01	0.14	0.49	198
Farm & Heavy Construction Machinery	0.03	0.15	0.48	142
Trucking	0.01	0.18	0.48	43
Industrial Distribution	0.01	0.18	0.39	104
Railroads	0.03	0.18	0.62	93
Conglomerates	0.02	0.20	0.58	333
Marine Shipping	0.06	0.21	0.55	216
Consulting Services	0.05	0.23	0.57	53
Airports & Air Services	0.00	0.29	0.77	45
Waste Management	0.08	0.35	0.76	140
Infrastructure Operations	0.12	0.62	1.31	63
Airlines	0.49	0.67	1.36	45
Rental & Leasing Services	0.10	0.72	2.19	84
Electrical Utilities & IPPs	0.55	0.85	1.15	12

Information Technology (18)

Industry	P25	Median	P75	Values
Communications & Networking	0.00	0.00	0.08	11
Computers, Phones & Household Electronics	0.00	0.00	0.07	11
IT Services	0.00	0.01	0.06	29
Electronic Equipment & Parts	0.00	0.01	0.15	18
Security & Protection Services	0.00	0.02	0.35	85
Software & IT Services	0.00	0.02	0.12	37
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment	0.00	0.02	0.10	44
Scientific & Technical Instruments	0.00	0.03	0.17	131
Communication Equipment	0.00	0.04	0.18	252
Information Technology Services	0.00	0.05	0.27	389
Software - Infrastructure	0.00	0.05	0.44	255
Electronics & Computer Distribution	0.00	0.05	0.18	134
Software - Application	0.00	0.05	0.26	459
Computer Hardware	0.00	0.06	0.25	172
Semiconductor Equipment & Materials	0.00	0.09	0.28	207
Electronic Components	0.01	0.09	0.26	562
Semiconductors	0.00	0.09	0.34	268
Solar	0.06	0.29	0.76	91

Materials (18)

Industry	P25	Median	P75	Values
Other	0.00	0.02	0.40	78
Gold	0.00	0.03	0.15	138
Other Precious Metals & Mining	0.00	0.03	0.29	58
Metals & Mining	0.00	0.03	0.21	21
Agricultural Inputs	0.01	0.06	0.21	145
Containers & Packaging	0.01	0.09	0.18	21
Other Industrial Metals & Mining	0.01	0.10	0.38	224
Steel	0.01	0.10	0.29	381
Specialty Chemicals	0.01	0.10	0.33	662
Chemicals	0.02	0.13	0.38	316
Aluminum	0.02	0.13	0.39	72
Construction Materials	0.00	0.15	0.54	11
Building Materials	0.03	0.16	0.33	240
Packaging & Containers	0.03	0.16	0.39	243
Copper	0.02	0.16	0.41	47
Paper & Paper Products	0.03	0.17	0.49	114
Lumber & Wood Production	0.02	0.18	0.41	69
Coking Coal	0.04	0.23	0.44	17

Real Estate (13)

Industry	P25	Median	P75	Values
Real Estate Development	0.02	0.13	1.03	18
Real Estate Operations	0.08	0.21	0.70	30
Real Estate - Development	0.09	0.33	0.76	533
Real Estate Services	0.03	0.34	0.92	467
REIT - Diversified	0.24	0.46	0.84	133
REIT - Industrial	0.30	0.47	0.71	53
Real Estate - Diversified	0.15	0.51	0.85	124
REIT - Healthcare Facilities	0.30	0.53	0.82	25
REIT - Specialty	0.34	0.54	1.25	28
REIT - Hotel & Motel	0.39	0.61	1.17	30
REIT - Retail	0.43	0.63	0.86	90
REIT - Residential	0.21	0.67	1.40	44
REIT - Office	0.40	0.67	1.10	71

Utilities (6)

Industry	P25	Median	P75	Values
Utilities - Regulated Gas	0.03	0.34	0.81	96
Utilities - Independent Power Producers	0.18	0.57	1.32	72
Utilities - Renewable	0.13	0.65	1.43	184
Utilities - Regulated Water	0.29	0.73	1.04	56
Utilities - Regulated Electric	0.29	0.95	1.42	153
Utilities - Diversified	0.53	1.04	1.52	49

History of sector medians

Month	Information Technology	Health Care	Communication Services	Consumer Discretionary	Consumer Staples	Materials	Industrials	Energy	Financials	Real Estate	Utilities
2026-09	0.05	0.07	0.06	0.08	0.09	0.10	0.12	0.19	0.26	0.40	0.67
2026-10	0.06	0.08	0.08	0.10	0.10	0.11	0.13	0.25	0.25	0.43	0.66

Use it

Debt-to-equity calculator with live sector comparison → · Market valuation by sector and country → · Undervalued stocks by sector → · All 15 metrics →

Cite or reuse this table

Suggested citation: Fair Value Calculator (2026): Debt-to-equity ratio by sector and industry, as of October 22, 2026. https://www.fairvalue-calculator.com/valuation-multiples/debt-to-equity

Free to use under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. Raw data: CSV · JSON · API and embedding

Not financial advice. Metrics from reported filings (latest fiscal year or trailing twelve months), percentiles over the visible Fair Value Calculator universe; negative multiples are excluded and outliers beyond the 90th percentile are never the basis of a statement.