Learn what a good debt-to-equity ratio is, what it means about a company's capital structure, and why the optimal ratio can vary widely. Create a Business Website with Wix. Add a Professional Email Domain Today! Manage and Grow Your Business with Wix's Marketing and Analytics Tools. The debt-to- equity ratio (D/E ratio ) depicts how much debt a company has compared to its assets. It is calculated by dividing a company's total debt by total shareholder equity. Debt to equity ratio (also termed as debt equity ratio ) is a long term solvency ratio that indicates the soundness of long-term financial policies of a company.