For our hypothetical firms, these two effects have combined to push Firm L’s expected rate of return on equity up far above that of Firm U. Thus, debt can be used to “leverage up” the rate of return on equity.
However, financial leverage can cut both ways. As we show in Column 2 of the income statements, if sales are lower and costs are higher than were expected, the return on assets will also be lower than was expected. Under these conditions, the leveraged firm’s return on equity falls especially sharply, and losses occur. For example, under the “bad conditions” in Table 3-1, the debt-free firm still shows a profit, but the firm which uses debt shows a loss, and a negative return on equity.