Here's Why Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly
Here's Why Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly
Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously said that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' 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. We note that Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) does have debt on its balance sheet. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.
作为投资者,有人认为波动性而不是债务是最好的风险思考方式,但沃伦·巴菲特曾经说过,“波动远非风险的同义词”。当你考虑一个公司有多大的风险时,考虑到其债务往往会导致企业破产,因此考虑到其负债表绝对是很自然的。我们注意到, Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)在其负债表上确实有债务。但真正的问题是这些债务是否使公司变得具有风险性。
What Risk Does Debt Bring?
债务带来了什么风险?
Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. However, a more usual (but still expensive) situation is where a company must dilute shareholders at a cheap share price simply to get debt under control. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.
一般来说,只有在公司无法融资或者用其自有现金流轻易偿还债务时,债务才会变成真正的问题。资本主义中必不可少的是‘创造性破坏’的过程,失败的企业会被银行家无情地清算。然而,更常见(但同样昂贵)的情况是公司必须以较低的价格稀释股东以令债务得到控制。当然,大量公司通过债务来创业,而没有遭到任何负面后果。当我们考虑公司使用债务的情况时,首先要看到现金和债务。
How Much Debt Does Zoetis Carry?
Zoetis承担多少债务?
The chart below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Zoetis had US$6.62b in debt in March 2024; about the same as the year before. However, it also had US$1.98b in cash, and so its net debt is US$4.64b.
下图(您可以点击放大)显示,Zoetis于2024年3月持有6.62亿美元的债务,与前一年大致相同。然而,它也持有19.8亿美元的现金,因此其净债务为46.4亿美元。
![debt-equity-history-analysis](https://usnewsfile.moomoo.com/public/MM-PersistNewsContentImage/7781/20240623/0-9013b0487969d97264acbc383e853f69-0-3f4e3e00eaadfba612a933d861ce1c59.png/big)
How Healthy Is Zoetis' Balance Sheet?
Zoetis的资产负债表有多健康?
The latest balance sheet data shows that Zoetis had liabilities of US$1.91b due within a year, and liabilities of US$7.39b falling due after that. Offsetting this, it had US$1.98b in cash and US$1.29b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling US$6.03b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.
最新的资产负债表数据显示,Zoetis有19.1亿美元的一年内到期的负债,以及7.39亿美元的到期债务。相应抵消的是,它有19.8亿美元的现金和12个月内应收账款12.9亿美元。因此,高于其现金和短期应收账款之和的总负债达到60.3亿美元。
Of course, Zoetis has a titanic market capitalization of US$78.1b, so these liabilities are probably manageable. Having said that, it's clear that we should continue to monitor its balance sheet, lest it change for the worse.
当然,Zoetis市值高达781亿美元,因此这些负债可能是可以控制的。话虽如此,显然我们应该继续监控其资产负债表,以免情况变得更糟。
In order to size up a company's debt relative to its earnings, we calculate its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) divided by its interest expense (its interest cover). The advantage of this approach is that we take into account both the absolute quantum of debt (with net debt to EBITDA) and the actual interest expenses associated with that debt (with its interest cover ratio).
为了考察公司债务与盈利的相对关系,我们计算其净债务与利息、税、折旧和摊销前利润(EBITDA)的比值以及其利息支出(利息保障倍数)与利润之前的利润(EBIT)的比值。这种方法的优点是,我们考虑了与债务相关的绝对量(净债务与EBITDA)和实际利息开支(利息保障倍数)的实际利润。
Zoetis has a low net debt to EBITDA ratio of only 1.3. And its EBIT easily covers its interest expense, being 24.2 times the size. So you could argue it is no more threatened by its debt than an elephant is by a mouse. The good news is that Zoetis has increased its EBIT by 9.4% over twelve months, which should ease any concerns about debt repayment. 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 Zoetis'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.
Zoetis的净债务/息税前收益率比率(即杠杆率)很低,只有1.3。其息税前收益(EBIT)轻松覆盖利息开支,为其利息开支的24.2倍。因此,你可以认为,相对于债务,它所面临的威胁不会比大象面临小老鼠的威胁更大。好消息是, Zoetis过去12个月增加了9.4%的EBIT,这应该缓解了关于偿还债务的担忧。分析债务时,资产负债表显然是需要重点关注的领域。但是,最终是未来收益而不是其他因素,将决定Zoetis维持健康资产负债表的能力。因此,如果想了解专业人士的看法,您可能会发现分析师盈利预测自由资讯报告很有趣。
Finally, a business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. So the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. Over the most recent three years, Zoetis recorded free cash flow worth 54% of its EBIT, which is around normal, given free cash flow excludes interest and tax. This free cash flow puts the company in a good position to pay down debt, when appropriate.
最后,公司需要自由现金流来偿还债务;会计利润并不足以支付。因此逻辑上的下一个步骤是查看实际自由现金流与其息税前收益的比例。在最近的三年中,Zoetis的自由现金流价值相当于其EBIT的54%,这是正常的,因为自由现金流不包括利息和税收。这种自由现金流将使公司处于清偿债务的有利地位,也是偿还债务的有力支持。
Our View
我们的观点
Zoetis's interest cover suggests it can handle its debt as easily as Cristiano Ronaldo could score a goal against an under 14's goalkeeper. And we also thought its net debt to EBITDA was a positive. Taking all this data into account, it seems to us that Zoetis takes a pretty sensible approach to debt. That means they are taking on a bit more risk, in the hope of boosting shareholder returns. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. Be aware that Zoetis is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...
根据Zoetis的利息盈利倍数(即EBITDA /利息支出比)来看,它可以像克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多(Cristiano Ronaldo)对待14岁的门将一样轻松处理其债务。我们还认为其净债务/EBITDA是积极的。考虑到所有这些数据,我们认为 Zoetis在借债时抱有相当明智的态度。这意味着它正在承担更多的风险,希望提高股东回报率。当然,资产负债表显然是需要重点关注的领域。但是,并非所有的投资风险都存在于资产负债表中,远非如此。请注意, Zoetis在我们的投资分析中显示了1个警告信号,您应该知道....
Of course, if you're the type of investor who prefers buying stocks without the burden of debt, then don't hesitate to discover our exclusive list of net cash growth stocks, today.
当然,如果您是那种喜欢购买没有负债负担的股票的投资者,则今天就可以发现我们的独家净现金增长股清单。
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