Leverage: The Power Play

A company with billions in cash still takes on debt. At the same time, a smaller firm with steady profits collapses because its interest bill quietly eats it alive. Same tool, opposite outcomes. In this episode, we’ll explore how leverage becomes either a shortcut… or a trap.

In this episode, we’re stepping into the gray zone where “more” isn’t always better and “safer” isn’t always smart. Some of the most disciplined investors deliberately add debt even when they don’t need to, while others refuse it and quietly lose ground to bolder competitors. The difference isn’t bravery—it’s precision.

We’ll look at why private equity deals in 2022 were comfortable stacking debt at over six times EBITDA, and how a rate hike can suddenly turn a solid business model into a fragile one. We’ll unpack why a company like Apple might borrow billions while sitting on a mountain of cash, and what its CFO is really optimizing for.