Here's Why Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly
Here's Why Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) Can Manage Its Debt Responsibly
Legendary fund manager Li Lu (who Charlie Munger backed) once said, 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.' So it might be obvious that you need to consider debt, when you think about how risky any given stock is, because too much debt can sink a company. We can see that Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) does use debt in its business. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?
传奇基金经理李璐(得到查理·芒格的支持)曾经说过,“最大的投资风险不是价格的波动,而是你是否会遭受永久性的本金损失。”因此,当你考虑某个股票的风险时,需要考虑债务,因为过多的债务可能会拖垮一家公司。我们可以看到,斯伦贝谢有限公司(纽交所:SLB)的业务中确实使用了债务。但更重要的问题是:这些债务创造了多大的风险?
When Is Debt Dangerous?
债务何时有危险?
Debt is a tool to help businesses grow, but if a business is incapable of paying off its lenders, then it exists at their mercy. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. 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, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.
债务是帮助企业成长的工具,但如果企业无力偿还债权人,那么就处于债权人的掌控之下。如果情况变得非常糟糕,债权人可以接管企业。然而,更常见的情况(尽管仍然很昂贵)是企业必须以廉价股价稀释股东的股份,才能控制债务。当然,债务可以成为企业的重要工具,尤其是资本密集型企业。当我们考虑一家公司使用债务的情况时,我们首先看现金和债务的总体情况。
What Is Schlumberger's Net Debt?
什么是斯伦贝谢的净债务?
You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that Schlumberger had US$12.3b of debt in March 2024, down from US$13.1b, one year before. However, because it has a cash reserve of US$3.49b, its net debt is less, at about US$8.79b.
您可以点击下面的图表查看历史数据,但是数据显示斯伦贝谢在 2024 年 3 月拥有 123 亿美元的债务,较一年前的 131 亿美元有所下降。然而,由于其拥有 34.9 亿美元的现金储备,净债务较少,约为 87.9 亿美元。
![big](https://usnewsfile.moomoo.com/public/MM-PersistNewsContentImage/7781/20240716/0-6db0aba84f6613dce8e712a350617721-0-ce7f35ce906dd6929c543039a238735f.png/big)
How Strong Is Schlumberger's Balance Sheet?
斯伦贝谢的资产负债表如何?
Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Schlumberger had liabilities of US$12.9b due within 12 months and liabilities of US$13.1b due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of US$3.49b and US$8.22b worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities total US$14.2b more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.
当我们仔细查看最新的资产负债表数据时,我们可以发现斯伦贝谢有 129 亿美元的负债在 12 个月内到期,131 亿美元的负债超过 12 个月内到期。另一方面,它拥有 34.9 亿美元的现金和 82.2 亿美元的应收账款,这些应收账款在一年内到期。所以它的负债总额比其现金和短期应收款的总和多出 142 亿美元。
Schlumberger has a very large market capitalization of US$66.3b, so it could very likely raise cash to ameliorate its balance sheet, if the need arose. But we definitely want to keep our eyes open to indications that its debt is bringing too much risk.
斯伦贝谢的市值非常大,达到了 663 亿美元,所以如果需要,它很可能筹集资金来改善其资产负债表。但我们一定要警惕其债务是否带来了过多的风险。
We measure a company's debt load relative to its earnings power by looking at its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and by calculating how easily its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) cover its interest expense (interest cover). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.
我们通过将公司的净债务与其息税折旧摊销前利润(EBITDA)相除,并计算其息税前利润(EBIT)如何覆盖其利息费用(利息覆盖率)来衡量公司的债务负担相对于其盈利能力。因此,我们同时考虑债务的绝对数量以及所支付的利率。
Schlumberger has a low net debt to EBITDA ratio of only 1.2. And its EBIT easily covers its interest expense, being 15.1 times the size. So you could argue it is no more threatened by its debt than an elephant is by a mouse. And we also note warmly that Schlumberger grew its EBIT by 15% last year, making its debt load easier to handle. 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 Schlumberger'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.
斯伦贝谢的净债务与息税前利润(EBITDA)比率只有 1.2,利息费用容易被其 EBIt 轻松覆盖,大小相差 15.1 倍。因此,你可以认为它面临的债务风险不比象征着力大如象的老鼠的大象面临的风险更大。我们也热情地注意到,斯伦贝谢去年的 EBIt 增长了 15%,使其债务负载更容易处理。从资产负债表上,我们无疑可以了解到债务情况。但更重要的是,未来的收益将决定斯伦贝谢保持健康资产负债表的能力。如果您想了解专业人士的看法,您可能会发现这份有关分析师盈利预测的免费报告很有趣。
Finally, a business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. So we clearly need to look at whether that EBIT is leading to corresponding free cash flow. During the last three years, Schlumberger produced sturdy free cash flow equating to 61% of its EBIT, about what we'd expect. This cold hard cash means it can reduce its debt when it wants to.
最后,企业需要自由现金流来偿还债务;会计利润无法解决问题。因此,我们需要清楚地看到,这些 EBIt 是否导致相应的自由现金流。在过去的三年中,斯伦贝谢生产了坚实的自由现金流,相当于其 EBIt 的 61%,这正是我们所预期的。这些冷硬的现金意味着斯伦贝谢可以在需要时减轻其债务。
Our View
我们的观点
Happily, Schlumberger's impressive interest cover implies it has the upper hand on its debt. And the good news does not stop there, as its EBIT growth rate also supports that impression! When we consider the range of factors above, it looks like Schlumberger is pretty sensible with its use of debt. While that brings some risk, it can also enhance returns for shareholders. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. These risks can be hard to spot. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Schlumberger you should know about.
令人欣喜的是,斯伦贝谢出色的利息保障倍数意味着其在债务方面拥有优势。而好消息并非仅此,因为它的 EBIt 增长率也支持这样的印象!当我们考虑以上因素的范围时,似乎斯伦贝谢在使用债务方面相当明智。尽管这带来了一些风险,但它也可以增强股东的回报。分析债务水平时,资产负债表是开始的明显位置。但最终,每家公司都可能存在超出资产负债表之外的风险。这些风险很难发现。每家公司都有这些风险,我们已经发现了斯伦贝谢存在 3 个警告信号,你应该了解它们。
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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这篇文章是Simply Wall St的一般性文章。我们根据历史数据和分析师预测提供评论,只使用公正的方法论,我们的文章并不意味着提供任何金融建议。文章不构成买卖任何股票的建议,也不考虑您的目标或您的财务状况。我们的目标是带给您基本数据驱动的长期关注分析。请注意,我们的分析可能不考虑最新的价格敏感公司公告或定性材料。Simply Wall St没有任何股票头寸。
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com
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