You are writing a comparison of an all-equity structure to a levered capital structure for a firm. It is accurate to state in this comparison that:

A. earnings per share will always be higher in the all-equity structure.

B. firms will only select the levered structure when individual rates on borrowed funds are lower than corporate rates.

C. leverage lowers shareholders' returns in bad times.

D. the all-equity firm has a greater advantage the higher the firm's earnings before interest.

E. leverage improves shareholders' returns regardless of the firm's level of earnings.