Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Has A Pretty Healthy Balance Sheet
Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) Has A Pretty Healthy Balance Sheet
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.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. Importantly, Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) does carry debt. 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资本损失。”当我们考虑公司的风险时,我们总是喜欢看看它的债务使用情况,因为债务过重会导致破产。重要的是,纽交所:安捷伦科技股份有限公司(NYSE:A)确实有负债。但更重要的问题是:这些债务带来了多大的风险?
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. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. 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 think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.
债务在业务扩张时能助力,直到欠债的时候。企业如果无法向债权人偿还所欠债务,公司最坏的情况下会破产。另外,公司必须通过连续发行股票以超低的价格获取新资本,以稳固其资产负债表,这是一种更频繁但同样代价高昂的情况。然而,最常见的情况是公司能够合理地管理其负债,使之成为权利。当我们思考一家公司的债务使用情况时,我们首先查看现金和债务的总额。
What Is Agilent Technologies's Net Debt?
安捷伦科技的净债务是什么?
The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Agilent Technologies had debt of US$2.56b at the end of April 2024, a reduction from US$2.73b over a year. On the flip side, it has US$1.67b in cash leading to net debt of about US$885.0m.
下面的图片(点击可放大)显示,安捷伦科技于2024年4月底的债务为25.6亿美元,比去年的27.3亿美元有所减少。相反,它有16.7亿美元的现金,净债务约为88500万美元。
![big](https://newsfile.futunn.com/public/NN-PersistNewsContentImage/7781/20240814/0-d0cc3e1780269af83c5151bcb399111a-0-a2dcdb81ba2957f4796e7154c3eae31b.png/big)
A Look At Agilent Technologies' Liabilities
看到最近的资产负债表,我们可以看到安捷伦科技有19.6亿美元的短期债务和26.8亿美元的长期债务到期。抵消这些义务的是,它有16.7亿美元的现金以及12.5亿美元的应收账款在12个月内到期。因此,其负债总额比其现金和短期应收账款的组合多出1.72亿美元。
We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Agilent Technologies had liabilities of US$1.96b falling due within a year, and liabilities of US$2.68b due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$1.67b as well as receivables valued at US$1.25b due within 12 months. So its liabilities total US$1.72b more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.
由于公开交易的安捷伦科技股票总值为399亿美元,因此这个水平的负债似乎不会构成重大威胁。但是有足够的债务,我们一定会建议股东继续监控资产负债表的情况。
Since publicly traded Agilent Technologies shares are worth a very impressive total of US$39.9b, it seems unlikely that this level of liabilities would be a major threat. But there are sufficient liabilities that we would certainly recommend shareholders continue to monitor the balance sheet, going forward.
安捷伦科技的净债务仅为EBITDA的0.55倍。而且它的EBIt覆盖其利息费用高达64.5倍。因此,您可以认为它受债务的威胁不比大象受老鼠的威胁更高。它的EBIt在过去一年中下降了24%,正如含糖汽水对健康一样,下降的盈利对偿还债务没有任何帮助。分析债务水平时,资产负债表是起点,而最终决定安捷伦科技是否能保持健康资产负债表的还是未来的盈利。因此,如果您专注于未来,可以查看这份免费报告,以了解分析师的盈利预测。
We use two main ratios to inform us about debt levels relative to earnings. The first is net debt divided by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), while the second is how many times its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) covers its interest expense (or its interest cover, for short). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.
Service Corporation International的债务是其EBITDA的3.5倍,而其EBIT可覆盖其利息开支的3.7倍。综合考虑,虽然我们不希望看到债务水平上升,但我们认为它可以应对当前的杠杆。好消息是,Service Corporation International在过去12个月中将其EBIT提高了2.9%,从而逐渐降低了其相对于收益的债务水平。毫无疑问,我们从资产负债表中获得了有关债务的大部分内容。但是,相对于资产负债表,更重要的是未来收益,这将决定Service Corporation International维持健康资产负债表的能力。如果您关注未来,您可以查看此免费报告,其中有分析师的利润预测。
Agilent Technologies's net debt is only 0.55 times its EBITDA. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 64.5 times over. So you could argue it is no more threatened by its debt than an elephant is by a mouse. It is just as well that Agilent Technologies's load is not too heavy, because its EBIT was down 24% over the last year. When it comes to paying off debt, falling earnings are no more useful than sugary sodas are for your health. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Agilent Technologies's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.
让人高兴的是,安捷伦科技用其EBIt覆盖其利息费用的能力,像毛茸茸的小狗一样让我们感到高兴。但我们必须承认,我们发现其EBIt增长率的效果相反。综合考虑所有上述因素,我们认为安捷伦科技可以相当舒适地处理其债务。再加上,这种杠杆作用可以增加股东回报,但潜在的缺点则是更大的损失风险,因此值得监控资产负债表。毫无疑问,我们从资产负债表中获得的关于债务的信息最多,但最终,每个公司都可能存在超出资产负债表之外的风险。例如——安捷伦科技有1个警示标志,我们认为您应该了解。
But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. So the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. Over the last three years, Agilent Technologies recorded free cash flow worth a fulsome 81% of its EBIT, which is stronger than we'd usually expect. That positions it well to pay down debt if desirable to do so.
但我们最后的考虑也很重要,因为公司不能用虚假利润支付债务,而需要用实际的现金。因此,逻辑的下一步是查看实际自由现金流匹配的EBIt的比例。在过去的三年中,安捷伦科技记录了自由现金流价值的EBIt的81%,这比我们通常预期的要强。如果需要偿还债务,这将使其处于有利地位。
Our View
我们的观点
The good news is that Agilent Technologies's demonstrated ability to cover its interest expense with its EBIT delights us like a fluffy puppy does a toddler. But we must concede we find its EBIT growth rate has the opposite effect. Looking at all the aforementioned factors together, it strikes us that Agilent Technologies can handle its debt fairly comfortably. On the plus side, this leverage can boost shareholder returns, but the potential downside is more risk of loss, so it's worth monitoring the balance sheet. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. For example - Agilent Technologies has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.
好消息是,安捷伦科技用其EBIt覆盖其利息费用的能力让我们感到像毛茸茸的小狗一样高兴。但我们必须承认,我们发现其EBIt增长率的效果相反。综合考虑所有上述因素,我们认为安捷伦科技可以相当舒适地处理其债务。再加上,这种杠杆作用可以增加股东回报,但潜在的缺点则是更大的损失风险,因此值得监控资产负债表。毫无疑问,我们从资产负债表中获得的关于债务的信息最多,但最终,每个公司都可能存在超出资产负债表之外的风险。例如——安捷伦科技有1个警示标志,我们认为您应该了解。
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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