A negative relationship between capital structure and performance indicates that capital structure has material effects on firm performance. Moreover, this finding is incongruent with the irrelevance proposition made by Modigliani and Miller (1958). Furthermore, the negative relationship between capital structure and performance indicates that agency issues may lead firms to use higher than appropriate levels of debt in their capital structure. This overleveraging may increase the lenders’ influence, which in turn limits the managers’ ability to manage the operations effectively, hence, negatively affecting the performance. Finally, this study has some important policy implications for financial managers, lenders, and
investors. For instance, empirical results indicate that financial managers should consider the effects of leverage on performance before adjusting the debt levels. Lenders should carefully inflict debt covenants considering their impact on firm performance. Lastly, investors should consider the firm’s debt level before making investment decisions.