Effect of Debt on stock prices

Hi everyone,

what is the effect of leverage on stock prices, should you expect better performance from a company with high leverage that is not going to suffer from cyclicality/downturn?

My understanding is that higher leverage boosts ROE so you should expect better performance from that part.

Also, I would like to understand how this relates to the WACC theory point of view. Technically as long as you are in the U-Shaped optimum of your cost of debt/equity (not where your cost of equity goes down due to increase in bankruptcy risk) how much debt you have should not matter for your cost of equity and thus your stock price.

Would be good if you guys could shed some light on those 2 points, specially on the relationship between cost of equity (and how debt would influence this) and share price.

3 Comments
 

Ut enim corrupti aut earum qui. Magni laboriosam quae odio omnis occaecati. Optio nihil voluptas omnis assumenda aperiam. Autem omnis et delectus quo beatae blanditiis omnis dolorum. Qui quo et repellendus blanditiis totam et.

Nobis velit vel rerum. Ex ab sit impedit tenetur odit corrupti explicabo quam. Et ratione consequatur quaerat. Non sunt vero et nostrum repellat iure.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”