The debt ratio is a financial leverage ratio used along with other financial leverage ratios to measure a company's ability to handle its obligations. If a company is overleveraged, i.e. has too much debt, they may find it difficult to maintain their solvency and/or acquire new debt. Just as in consumer loans, companies are evaluated when taking on new obligations to determine their risk of non-repayment.
Both the total liabilities and total assets can be found on a company's balance sheet.