Q. Define leverage?
Meaning of Leverage: - The dictionary significance of the term leverage refers to 'an increased means of accomplishing some purpose'. For instance leverage helps us in lifting heavy objects which may not be otherwise possible.
Nevertheless in the area of finance it is used to describe the firm's ability to used fixed cost assets or funds to magnify the returns to its owners.
Leverage can be describe as 'the employment of an assets or fund for which the firms pays a fixed cost or fixed return thus according to him leverage result as a result of the firm employing an assets or source of funds which has a fixed cost or else return. The former perhaps termed as fixed operating cost while the latter may be termed as fixed financial cost. It must be noted that fixed cost or return is the fulcrum of leverage. If a firm isn't required to pay fixed cost or fixed return there will be no leverage.
A high degree of leverage entails that there will be a large change in the profits because of relatively small change in sales and vice- versa. Therefore the higher is the leverage the higher is the risk and higher is the expected return.