Here's Why Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly
Here's Why Landstar System (NASDAQ:LSTR) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly
The external fund manager backed by Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger, Li Lu, makes no bones about it when he says 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.' It's only natural to consider a company's balance sheet when you examine how risky it is, since debt is often involved when a business collapses. Importantly, Landstar System, Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) does carry debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?
当您考虑一家公司的风险时,自然而然会考虑其资产负债表,因为在业务崩溃时经常涉及债务。然而,Landstar System公司(纳斯达克股票代码:LSTR)确实有债务。但是,股东们是否应该担心其是否使用了债务?曾经有一位由伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司的查理·芒格支持的外部基金经理人Li Lu曾经明确地表态:'最大的投资风险不是价格的波动,而是是否会遭受资本的永久损失。' (翻译中的can无需翻译)
What Risk Does Debt Bring?
债务带来了什么风险?
Debt and other liabilities become risky for a business when it cannot easily fulfill those obligations, either with free cash flow or by raising capital at an attractive price. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. However, a more frequent (but still costly) occurrence is where a company must issue shares at bargain-basement prices, permanently diluting shareholders, just to shore up its balance sheet. Having said that, the most common situation is where a company manages its debt reasonably well - and to its own advantage. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.
当一家公司无法轻松地通过自由现金流或以具有吸引力的价格筹集资本来履行其债务义务时,债务和其他负债变得很有风险。如果公司无法履行偿还债务的法律义务,则股东可能一无所获。然而,更常见的(但仍然代价高昂)情况是公司必须以低廉的价格发行股票,以永久性稀释股东的股份,以巩固其资产负债表。尽管如此,最常见的情况是公司合理地管理债务 - 并以自己的优势为己所用。当我们检查债务水平时,我们首先考虑现金和债务水平。
What Is Landstar System's Debt?
Landstar System的债务是多少?
You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that Landstar System had US$51.7m of debt in March 2024, down from US$66.2m, one year before. However, its balance sheet shows it holds US$530.5m in cash, so it actually has US$478.8m net cash.
您可以单击下面的图形以获得历史数据,但它显示Landstar System于2024年3月有5170万美元的债务,比一年前的6620万美元还少。但是,其资产负债表显示,它持有5.305亿美元的现金,因此它实际上拥有4.788亿美元的净现金。
![debt-equity-history-analysis](https://usnewsfile.moomoo.com/public/MM-PersistNewsContentImage/7781/20240610/0-d4bf2c8100782ad36c0bc96607bf0d9d-0-48466c119a375945e568a3bbe87b7498.png/big)
How Strong Is Landstar System's Balance Sheet?
Landstar System的资产负债表有多强?
We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Landstar System had liabilities of US$589.7m falling due within a year, and liabilities of US$138.3m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had US$530.5m in cash and US$764.4m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it can boast US$566.9m more liquid assets than total liabilities.
从最近的资产负债表中,我们可以看到Landstar System有5.897亿美元的到期负债和1.383亿美元的到期负债,均在一年内到期。与此相对的是,它持有5.305亿美元的现金和7.644亿美元的应收账款,在12个月内到期。所以,它拥有比其他负债更多的流动资产。总负债。
This surplus suggests that Landstar System has a conservative balance sheet, and could probably eliminate its debt without much difficulty. Succinctly put, Landstar System boasts net cash, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load!
这种盈余表明Landstar System有一个保守的资产负债表,可能很容易消除其债务。简而言之,Landstar System拥有净现金,因此可以说它没有沉重的债务负担!
It is just as well that Landstar System's load is not too heavy, because its EBIT was down 41% over the last year. Falling earnings (if the trend continues) could eventually make even modest debt quite risky. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Landstar System's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.
幸运的是,Landstar System的负担并不太重,因为其EBIT在过去一年下降了41%。如果收益下降(如果趋势继续下去),即使是小额债务也可能变得相当风险。很明显,资产负债表是分析债务的重点。但是,不仅仅是资产负债表内才有投资风险,比如我们已经发现了可能存在于Landstar System的一个警告信号,您应该注意。
Finally, a business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. Landstar System may have net cash on the balance sheet, but it is still interesting to look at how well the business converts its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, because that will influence both its need for, and its capacity to manage debt. During the last three years, Landstar System generated free cash flow amounting to a very robust 90% of its EBIT, more than we'd expect. That positions it well to pay down debt if desirable to do so.
最后,企业需要自由现金流来偿还债务;会计利润并不能解决问题。Landstar System可能在资产负债表上拥有净现金,但是查看企业将其息税前利润(EBIT)转换为自由现金流的表现也很有趣,因为这将影响其管理债务的需求和能力。在过去的三年中,Landstar System生成的自由现金流相当可观,相当于其EBIT的90%,超出了我们的预期。这使其有足够的能力,如果希望这样做,偿还债务。
Summing Up
总之
While we empathize with investors who find debt concerning, you should keep in mind that Landstar System has net cash of US$478.8m, as well as more liquid assets than liabilities. The cherry on top was that in converted 90% of that EBIT to free cash flow, bringing in US$320m. So we don't have any problem with Landstar System's use of debt. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Landstar System that you should be aware of.
虽然我们理解担心债务的投资者,但您应该记住,Landstar System拥有4.788亿美元的净现金,以及更多的流动资产。上述情况的另一个亮点是,它将90%的EBIT转换为自由现金流,并带来了3.2亿美元的收入。所以我们对Landstar System使用债务毫不担心。很明显,我们从资产负债表中学到了大部分债务的信息,但并不是所有的投资风险都存在于资产负债表中。例如,我们已经发现了Landstar System的一个警告信号,您应该注意。
If you're interested in investing in businesses that can grow profits without the burden of debt, then check out this free list of growing businesses that have net cash on the balance sheet.
如果您有兴趣投资能够在不负债的情况下增长利润的企业,请查看这份免费列表,其中列出了在资产负债表上拥有净现金的成长型企业。
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