Warren Buffett famously said, 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' 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. As with many other companies Seritage Growth Properties (NYSE:SRG) makes use of debt. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

Debt and other liabilities become risky for a business when it cannot easily fulfill those obligations, either with free cash flow or by raising capital at an attractive price. 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. Of course, the upside of debt is that it often represents cheap capital, especially when it replaces dilution in a company with the ability to reinvest at high rates of return. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

Check out our latest analysis for Seritage Growth Properties

How Much Debt Does Seritage Growth Properties Carry?

As you can see below, Seritage Growth Properties had US$550.0m of debt at June 2023, down from US$1.44b a year prior. However, it also had US$124.9m in cash, and so its net debt is US$425.1m.

A Look At Seritage Growth Properties' Liabilities

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Seritage Growth Properties had liabilities of US$55.4m falling due within a year, and liabilities of US$550.9m due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of US$124.9m and US$22.2m worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities total US$459.2m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

When you consider that this deficiency exceeds the company's US$418.0m market capitalization, you might well be inclined to review the balance sheet intently. In the scenario where the company had to clean up its balance sheet quickly, it seems likely shareholders would suffer extensive dilution. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But it is Seritage Growth Properties's earnings that will influence how the balance sheet holds up in the future. So when considering debt, it's definitely worth looking at the earnings trend. Click here for an interactive snapshot.

In the last year Seritage Growth Properties had a loss before interest and tax, and actually shrunk its revenue by 41%, to US$46m. That makes us nervous, to say the least.

Caveat Emptor

Not only did Seritage Growth Properties's revenue slip over the last twelve months, but it also produced negative earnings before interest and tax (EBIT). Its EBIT loss was a whopping US$77m. Considering that alongside the liabilities mentioned above make us nervous about the company. We'd want to see some strong near-term improvements before getting too interested in the stock. Not least because it burned through US$95m in negative free cash flow over the last year. That means it's on the risky side of things. 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 Seritage Growth Properties is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.