The higher the degree of financial leverage employed by a firm is, the: A. Higher is the number of outstanding shares of stock. B. Higher is the probability that the firm will encounter financial distress. C. Less debt a firm has per dollar of total assets. D. Lower is the amount of debt incurred. E. Lower is the balance in accounts payable.

The degree of financial leverage (DFL) is a leverage ratio that measures the sensitivity of a company's earnings per share to fluctuations in it's operating income, as a result of changes in its capital structure.

This ratio indicates that the higher the degree of financial leverage, the more volatile earnings will be.

The use of financial leverage varies greatly by industry and by the business sector. There are many industry sectors in which companies operate with a high degree of financial leverage (examples are retail stores, grocery store, banking institutions, airlines...). Unfortunately, the excessive use of financial leverage by many companies in this sector has played a major role in forcing a lot of them to file for bankruptcy.

Therefore, if the degree of financial leverage employed by a firm is high, then the probability that the firm will encounter financial distress will also be high.