capital structure – n : finance/accounting term; a.k.a. cap structure; owners’ equity plus long term debt; how a company is financed; shown on the assets side of the company’s balance sheet. capital structure explained: A typical company’s capital structure would include various pieces, or tranches, of debt and equity.  The make-up of a capital structure is typically represented either in a capitalization table, where each instrument is laid out with the corresponding dollar amounts and owners, or is represented by ratios, such as the debt-to-equity ratio, or the debt-to-total capitalization ratio, or percentages (e.g., 30% debt/70% equity).  A typical start-up company is financed primarily with equity, so that its capital structure is comprised nearly 100% of equity.

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Adapted from "The CompanyCrafters Entrepreneur's Dictionary"
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