Is British American Tobacco p.l.c. financially healthy?
Mostly
British American Tobacco p.l.c. would need 2.2 years of earnings to pay off its debt, which is manageable.
The numbers behind it
Net debt / EBITDA2.2 years
Cash vs. debt£3.5B vs. £35.1B
Current ratio0.9×Short-term assets for each £1 of bills due within a year
Interest coverage6.1×How many times operating profit covers the interest bill
How we decide
We measure debt in years of earnings (net debt / EBITDA): under 1 is very comfortable, 1 to 3 is manageable, above 3 is heavy. A company that earns less than 3 times its interest bill also counts as weak.
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Data as of Nov 13, 2026.