Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Seems To Use Debt Quite Sensibly
Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Seems To Use Debt Quite Sensibly
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 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, Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) does carry debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?
传奇基金经理李录(查理芒格支持的)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。”因此,聪明的投资者知道,债务(通常与破产有关)是评估一家公司风险性的一个非常重要的因素。重要的是,洛克希德马丁公司(纽交所代码:LMT)确实有负债。但是股东们是否应该担心其债务使用?
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. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. However, a more common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. 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. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.
债务是帮助企业增长的工具,但如果企业无力偿还债权人,则它存在于债权人的掌控之中。在最坏的情况下,如果公司无法偿还其债权人,则会破产。然而,更常见(但仍然痛苦)的情况是它需要以较低的价格筹集新的股权资本,从而永久稀释股东的权益。但是,通过取代稀释,债务可以是企业在需要以高回报投资于增长的资本方面非常好的工具。在考虑企业使用多少债务时,首先要看它的现金和债务的结合。
How Much Debt Does Lockheed Martin Carry?
洛克希德马丁承担了多少债务?
The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at June 2024 Lockheed Martin had debt of US$19.3b, up from US$17.5b in one year. However, it does have US$2.52b in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about US$16.7b.
下面的图片显示,截至2024年6月,洛克希德马丁的债务为193亿美元,比一年前的175亿美元有所增加。然而,它有25.2亿美元的现金抵消这一点,导致净债务约为167亿美元。
![1724852931430](https://usnewsfile.moomoo.com/public/MM-PersistNewsContentImage/7781/20240828/43011033-0-17fa755f98795432778b9b74c67b9fd3.webp/bigjpg)
How Strong Is Lockheed Martin's Balance Sheet?
洛克希德马丁的资产负债表有多坚实?
The latest balance sheet data shows that Lockheed Martin had liabilities of US$18.5b due within a year, and liabilities of US$30.4b falling due after that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$2.52b as well as receivables valued at US$16.8b due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling US$29.5b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.
最新的资产负债表数据显示,洛克希德马丁有185亿美元的短期债务,以及304亿美元的到期债务。抵消这些债务,它有25.2亿美元的现金和价值168亿美元的应收账款,这些账款将在12个月内到期。因此,其债务总额超过现金和近期应收账款合计295亿美元。
This deficit isn't so bad because Lockheed Martin is worth a massive US$133.0b, and thus could probably raise enough capital to shore up its balance sheet, if the need arose. But it's clear that we should definitely closely examine whether it can manage its debt without dilution.
这个赤字并不严重,因为洛克希德马丁的价值达到了1,330亿美元,所以如果需要,它可能能够筹集足够的资金来支撑其资产负债表。但很明显,我们应该仔细检查它是否能够在不稀释股权的情况下管理其债务。
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). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.
通过查看公司的净债务与利息、税、折旧、摊销前利润(EBITDA)之比以及它的利息费用(利息覆盖率)可以衡量一个公司的债务负担与收益能力。因此,我们考虑将债务与有无计算折旧和摊销费用的收益相对比。
With a debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.6, Lockheed Martin uses debt artfully but responsibly. And the fact that its trailing twelve months of EBIT was 8.9 times its interest expenses harmonizes with that theme. On the other hand, Lockheed Martin saw its EBIT drop by 2.3% in the last twelve months. That sort of decline, if sustained, will obviously make debt harder to handle. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Lockheed Martin can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.
洛克希德马丁的债务与EBITDA的比率为1.6,它巧妙而负责地利用债务。与此主题相一致的是,过去12个月的EBIT是其利息支出的8.9倍。另一方面,洛克希德马丁在过去12个月中的EBIT下降了2.3%。如果这种下降趋势持续下去,无疑会使债务更难处理。毫无疑问,我们从资产负债表中可以得到关于债务的最多信息。但最终,企业未来的盈利能力将决定洛克希德马丁是否能够逐渐加强其资产负债表。因此,如果你关注未来,你可以查看一份免费报告,其中列出了分析师的盈利预测。
But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. So we clearly need to look at whether that EBIT is leading to corresponding free cash flow. Over the last three years, Lockheed Martin recorded free cash flow worth a fulsome 85% of its EBIT, which is stronger than we'd usually expect. That puts it in a very strong position to pay down debt.
但我们的最后一个考虑因素也很重要,因为一家公司不能用纸上利润来偿还债务,而是需要真金白银的现金。因此,我们明确需要看一下这个EBIT是否带来相应的自由现金流。在过去的三年中,洛克希德马丁的自由现金流价值达到了其EBIT的85%,这比我们通常预期的要强。这使它处于非常强势的偿还债务的位置。
Our View
我们的观点
Happily, Lockheed Martin's impressive conversion of EBIT to free cash flow implies it has the upper hand on its debt. But, on a more sombre note, we are a little concerned by its EBIT growth rate. All these things considered, it appears that Lockheed Martin can comfortably handle its current debt levels. Of course, while this leverage can enhance returns on equity, it does bring more risk, so it's worth keeping an eye on this one. 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. Be aware that Lockheed Martin is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...
洛克希德马丁令人钦佩的EBIT转换为自由现金流,表明它在债务方面占据上风。但值得注意的是,它的EBIT增长率让我们有些担忧。综合考虑所有这些因素,洛克希德马丁似乎能够轻松应对目前的债务水平。当然,虽然这种杠杆可以提高股东回报率,但也带来了更多风险,因此值得关注。在分析债务水平时,资产负债表是显而易见的起点。然而,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,在我们的投资分析中,洛克希德马丁显示了2个警示信号,你应该知道...。
If, after all that, you're more interested in a fast growing company with a rock-solid balance sheet, then check out our list of net cash growth stocks without delay.
如果在所有这些之后,您更感兴趣的是具有坚实资产负债表的快速增长公司,那么不要拖延,查看我们的净现金增长股票列表。
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