Dados B3 › Guides › EV/EBITDA and debt
Guide · Multiples & leverage
EV/EBITDA and net debt/EBITDA: the multiple that sees the debt
P/E ignores a company's debt. EV/EBITDA doesn't — which is why it compares businesses with different capital structures better. Together with net debt/EBITDA, it's the pair that answers "how much it's worth" and "how risky the debt is".
EV — Enterprise Value
Market cap is the price of the shares. Enterprise value is the price of the whole company — buy it and you inherit the debt too. Adding net debt (gross debt − cash) to market cap gives the real acquisition price.
EV/EBITDA
EBITDA is operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — a proxy for the operation's cash generation. EV/EBITDA tells you how many years of operating cash the whole company trades for. By neutralizing capital structure, it lets you compare a leveraged company with a debt-free one — something P/E does poorly.
Net debt/EBITDA — the leverage ruler
Below 2 is usually comfortable; above 3–3.5 raises a flag (depending on sector and cash predictability). Negative means net cash — more cash than debt.
Real B3 examples (2024)
| Ticker | EV/EBITDA | Net debt/EBITDA | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| WEGE3 | 23.1 | −0.5 | expensive, but net cash (no debt) |
| VALE3 | 4.3 | 0.9 | low multiple, light leverage |
| LREN3 | 5.0 | −0.7 | reasonable, net cash |
| SUZB3 | 6.1 | 3.2 | ok multiple, but high debt (capital-intensive sector) |
WEG trades very expensive (EV/EBITDA 23) but with net cash — low financial risk. Suzano has a modest multiple, but 3.2× net-debt/EBITDA in a cyclical sector is what deserves attention. Multiple and leverage tell the story together.
How Dados B3 computes it (and when it does NOT)
Our EBITDA uses actual depreciation and amortization from the cash-flow statement, not an estimate. When the file lacks the indirect-method cash-flow statement, EBITDA is left null with a flag — we prefer an honest blank to an invented number. And banks and insurers have no EV/EBITDA: there's no EBITDA or "net debt" in the operating sense — debt is the business.
Honest limitations
- EBITDA isn't free cash flow — it ignores capex and working capital. A capital-intensive company can show good EBITDA and weak cash.
- Doesn't apply to financial institutions.
- Not investment advice.