5 companies with total debt of less than $100 million

At a time when high interest rates are making financing more expensive and many companies have to service large loans and bonds every year, there is a group of companies that practically don’t have to deal with this problem. Their total debt remains below $100 million, which is a negligible amount for companies with a market capitalization in the billions or even tens of billions. Low debt means that a company finances its growth from its own cash flow, is not at the mercy of creditors, and, in the event of a crisis, has far greater room to maneuver than competitors who are repaying loans.

The balance sheet is one of the best indicators of a business’s quality. A debt-free company typically generates enough cash to be self-sufficient, and it can return surpluses to shareholders or invest them in further growth. It is useful to distinguish between interest-bearing debt—that is, loans and bonds that cost the company interest—and other liabilities such as leases, which appear on the…