
a corresponding long-term liability. The lease payments are then considered to be
future payments do not appear on the balance sheet as liabilities, any ratio that in-
Chapter 10, C 1.
chase the assets it is leasing. Walgreens’ operating lease commitments are greater
Future commitments for operating leases, such as those described for Walgreens,
asset is leased, under a capital lease, it must be recorded as a long-term asset with
than the liabilities shown on the balance sheet.
as an operating expense on the income statement.
make payments for five years or more in the future. Since these commitments for
it would if the company recognized the future lease payments as liabilities. Further,
cludes debt, such as the debt to equity or interest coverage ratio, looks better than
option to buy the asset at a nominal price at the end of the lease. Even though the
about the same as the useful life of the asset, and stipulates that the lessee has the
do not appear on the balance sheet. The $2.0 billion for the current year will appear
Often these operating leases represent commitments on the part of the company to
partly interest and partly repayment of the debt.
free cash flow is improved because the company is not making expenditures to pur-
A capital lease is a long-term lease that cannot be canceled, has a duration that is
health.
If the lease commitments were shown on the balance sheet, a more realistic picture
of the company’s assets, debt, and interest expense and debt to equity, interest
coverage, and free cash flow ratios would be provided in the company’s financial