A Study of the Relationship between Cash Flow and Capital Structure

This study investigates the effect of cash flow volatility on capital structure decisions and the debt ratio of the companies listed on the Tehran stock exchange. To achieve this aim, we collect and present information attributed to eighty companies from 1390 to 1397.  In that case, our statistical sample with a frequency of six months would be 1280 observations in total. To test the hypotheses, we followed the Panel Data method running EViews 10. The empirical result from testing the first hypothesis revealed that the operating cash flow risk has a significant and positive effect on the sample companies’ debt ratio. Based on the statistical findings, this effect is not substantial, which shows that the majority of managers do not consider the impact of cash flow volatility in their decisions regarding the capital structure.  In addition, the findings obtained from testing the second hypothesis illustrate that this impact is relatively more considerable in top and bottom quintiles. In companies with lower or higher operative cash flow, the effect of cash flow volatility on the debt ratio was more intense