 Over the past three months, shares of Infinera Inc. NASDAQ: INFN moved higher by 81.90. Before we understand the importance of debt, lets look at how much debt Infinera has.Infineras Debt According to the Infineras most recent financial statement as reported on August 6, 2020, total debt is at 538.05 million, with 510.33 million in long-term debt and 27.73 million in current debt. Adjusting for 202.78 million in cash-equivalents, the company has a net debt of 335.27 million.Investors look at the debt-ratio to understand how much financial leverage a company has. Infinera has 1.60 billion in total assets, therefore making the debt-ratio 0.34. As a rule of thumb, a debt-ratio more than 1 indicates that a considerable portion of debt is funded by assets. A higher debt-ratio can also imply that the company might be putting itself at risk for default, if interest rates were to increase. However, debt-ratios vary widely across different industries. For example, a debt ratio of 25 might be higher for one industry, whereas normal for another.Why Debt Is Important Debt is an important factor in the capital structure of a company, and can help it attain growth. Debt usually has a relatively lower financing cost than equity, which makes it an attractive option for executives.However, interest-payment obligations can have an adverse impact on the cash-flow of the company. Equity owners can keep excess profit, generated from the debt capital, when companies use the debt capital for its business operations.See more from Benzinga Stocks That Hit 52-Week Highs On ThursdayC 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. 