Here's Why Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Has A Meaningful Debt Burden
Here's Why Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Has A Meaningful Debt Burden
Howard Marks put it nicely when he said that, rather than worrying about share price volatility, 'The possibility of permanent loss is the risk I worry about... and every practical investor I know worries about.' So it seems the smart money knows that debt - which is usually involved in bankruptcies - is a very important factor, when you assess how risky a company is. Importantly, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) does carry debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?
霍华德·马克斯说得好,我们不应只关注股价波动,而是关注“可能造成永久损失的风险……我所认识的每位实践投资者都会担心这个问题。” 因此,看起来明智的投资人知道,债务(通常涉及破产的因素)是评估公司风险的一个非常重要的因素。重要的是,沃尔格林-联合博姿公司(NASDAQ:WBA)确实有债务。但股东们是否应该担心该公司的借债情况呢?
Why Does Debt Bring Risk?
为什么债务会带来风险?
Debt assists a business until the business has trouble paying it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. While that is not too common, we often do see indebted companies permanently diluting shareholders because lenders force them to raise capital at a distressed price. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.
债务可以协助企业,在企业遇到困境时偿还债务,可以通过新资本或自由现金流来偿还。如果情况变得非常糟糕,贷款人可以控制企业。虽然这并不太常见,但我们经常会看到负债的公司因贷款人强迫其以压低价格的价格筹集资金而永久地稀释股东。通过代替稀释,债务可以成为需要资本以高回报率投资增长的企业的极好工具。在我们研究负债水平时,我们首先考虑现金和负债水平。
What Is Walgreens Boots Alliance's Debt?
沃尔格林-联合博姿公司的债务是多少?
As you can see below, Walgreens Boots Alliance had US$8.91b of debt at May 2024, down from US$11.9b a year prior. However, it also had US$711.0m in cash, and so its net debt is US$8.20b.
正如下图所示,在2024年5月,沃尔格林-联合博姿公司的债务总额为89.1亿美元,较去年同期的119亿美元有所下降。然而,该公司也拥有7,110万美元的现金,因此其净债务为82亿美元。
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How Strong Is Walgreens Boots Alliance's Balance Sheet?
沃尔格林-联合博姿公司的资产负债表有多强?
We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Walgreens Boots Alliance had liabilities of US$25.0b falling due within a year, and liabilities of US$42.5b due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had US$711.0m in cash and US$5.95b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$60.9b.
我们可以从最近的资产负债表中看到,沃尔格林-联合博姿公司的短期负债为250亿美元,长期负债为425亿美元。相对应的,其现金为7110万美元,应收账款为5.95亿美元。因此,其负债总额超过其现金和(短期)应收账款的总和达到609亿美元。
This deficit casts a shadow over the US$9.93b company, like a colossus towering over mere mortals. So we'd watch its balance sheet closely, without a doubt. After all, Walgreens Boots Alliance would likely require a major re-capitalisation if it had to pay its creditors today.
这种差额就像一个高耸的巨人,笼罩在99.3亿美元公司上。所以我们会密切关注其资产负债表,毫无疑问。毕竟,如果沃尔格林-联合博姿今天必须支付其债权人,那么该公司很可能需要进行重大的资本重组。
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).
为了评估公司的债务与收益的关系,我们计算净债务除以息税折旧及摊销前利润(EBITDA),以及利息费用除以息税前利润(EBIT)(其利息覆盖率)。这种方法的优点是我们同时考虑到债务的绝对量(以净债务/EBITDA计算),以及与债务相关的实际利息费用(以利息覆盖率计算)。
Walgreens Boots Alliance has net debt worth 2.3 times EBITDA, which isn't too much, but its interest cover looks a bit on the low side, with EBIT at only 3.1 times the interest expense. In large part that's due to the company's significant depreciation and amortisation charges, which arguably mean its EBITDA is a very generous measure of earnings, and its debt may be more of a burden than it first appears. Importantly, Walgreens Boots Alliance grew its EBIT by 34% over the last twelve months, and that growth will make it easier to handle its debt. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Walgreens Boots Alliance'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.
沃尔格林-联合博姿的净负债为EBITDA的2.3倍,这并不算太多,但其利息保障比看起来有点低,EBIt仅为利息支出的3.1倍。在很大程度上,这归因于该公司的大量折旧和摊销费用,这可谓是其EBITDA盈利的非常优越的度量标准,其债务可能比首次出现时更具负担。重要的是,沃尔格林-联合博姿公司在过去12个月里将其EBIT增长了34%,这种增长将使其更容易处理其债务。毫无疑问,我们从资产负债表中了解的关于债务的信息最为重要。但对于部分投资风险,其并不仅仅来自于资产负债表。因此,您应该了解我们发现的沃尔格林-联合博姿的2个警告信号。
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. Looking at the most recent three years, Walgreens Boots Alliance recorded free cash flow of 28% of its EBIT, which is weaker than we'd expect. That's not great, when it comes to paying down debt.
最后,企业需要自由现金流来偿还债务;而会计利润不能达到这一目标。因此,逻辑的下一步是查看实际自由现金流与其EBIT的比例。在最近的三年中,沃尔格林-联合博姿公司的自由现金流只占到其EBIT的28%,这比我们预期的要弱。在偿还债务方面,这并不太好。
Our View
我们的观点
Mulling over Walgreens Boots Alliance's attempt at staying on top of its total liabilities, we're certainly not enthusiastic. But at least it's pretty decent at growing its EBIT; that's encouraging. Looking at the bigger picture, it seems clear to us that Walgreens Boots Alliance's use of debt is creating risks for the company. If all goes well, that should boost returns, but on the flip side, the risk of permanent capital loss is elevated by the debt. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Walgreens Boots Alliance .
考虑到沃尔格林-联合博姿的应对总负债的尝试,我们并不怀有太多热情。但至少它在增长EBIT方面表现得相当不错,这是令人鼓舞的。从更大的情况来看,对我们来说似乎很清楚,沃尔格林-联合博姿的债务利用正为该公司带来风险。如果一切顺利,这将推动回报,但反过来,债务将使永久性资本损失的风险提高。在分析债务水平时,资产负债表显然是起点。但不是所有投资风险都存在于资产负债表中-远非如此。为此,你应该意识到我们已经发现沃尔格林-联合博姿存在2个警告信号。
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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Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com
对本文有反馈?对内容感到担忧?请直接与我们联系。或者,发送电子邮件至editorial-team@simplywallst.com。