The purpose of this study is to examine how leverage affects earnings after financial items in Swedish publicly listed companies. Debt is an important component of a company's capital structure and entails both advantages, such as tax deductions for interest expenses, and disadvantages, such as increased financial risk and higher interest costs. Although capital structure has been widely studied internationally, earnings after financial items remainunder explored as a performance measure, particularly within a Swedish context characterized by rising interest rates and tighter restrictions on interest deductibility.

The study adopts a quantitative research approach using secondary data from annual reports of Swedish listed companies for the fiscal years 2018 to 2024. The empirical analysis employs descriptive statistics, paired sample t-tests, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression models. Leverage is defined as the ratio of total liabilities to equity, whereas earnings after financial items capture profits after financial income and expenses but before tax.

The results reveal a statistically significant relationship between leverage and earnings after financial items, indicating that higher debt levels are generally associated with weaker financial performance. This finding suggests that, for many firms, interest expenses and financial risk outweigh potential tax advantages.

This study contributes to the capital structure literature by providing empirical evidence from the Swedish stock market while highlighting earnings after financial items as a relevant performance measure. The findings offer practical insights for corporate managers, investors, and creditors when assessing financing strategies and financial risk.