Net interest expense

Net interest expense combines the interest a company pays on its debt with the interest and investment income it earns on its cash and investments. It shows whether the company's financing position costs it money or earns it money overall.

On financial data sites the line is usually calculated as:

So despite the label, a positive figure means the company earned more interest than it paid, and a negative figure means it paid more than it earned. A company with more debt than cash usually shows a negative figure, while one holding more cash than debt can show a positive one.

Because it nets two different things, look at both parts as well. Higher interest rates raise the interest a company earns on its cash and the cost of any debt with a floating rate at the same time, so the net figure can stay flat while both sides move a lot.