Warren Buffett famously said, 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' It's only natural to consider a company's balance sheet when you examine how risky it is, since debt is often involved when a business collapses. We note that Nexa Resources S.A. (NYSE:NEXA) does have debt on its balance sheet. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

When Is Debt A Problem?

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. 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. 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 think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Nexa Resources

How Much Debt Does Nexa Resources Carry?

The chart below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Nexa Resources had US$1.66b in debt in September 2023; about the same as the year before. On the flip side, it has US$422.3m in cash leading to net debt of about US$1.24b.

A Look At Nexa Resources' Liabilities

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Nexa Resources had liabilities of US$898.6m due within 12 months and liabilities of US$2.31b due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of US$422.3m and US$166.2m worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$2.62b.

The deficiency here weighs heavily on the US$796.0m company itself, as if a child were struggling under the weight of an enormous back-pack full of books, his sports gear, and a trumpet. So we definitely think shareholders need to watch this one closely. After all, Nexa Resources would likely require a major re-capitalisation if it had to pay its creditors today. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Nexa Resources'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.

In the last year Nexa Resources had a loss before interest and tax, and actually shrunk its revenue by 7.1%, to US$2.7b. That's not what we would hope to see.

Caveat Emptor

Over the last twelve months Nexa Resources produced an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss. To be specific the EBIT loss came in at US$57m. If you consider the significant liabilities mentioned above, we are extremely wary of this investment. Of course, it may be able to improve its situation with a bit of luck and good execution. But we think that is unlikely, given it is low on liquid assets, and burned through US$75m in the last year. So we think this stock is risky, like walking through a dirty dog park with a mask on. 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 - Nexa Resources has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

When all is said and done, sometimes its easier to focus on companies that don't even need debt. Readers can access a list of growth stocks with zero net debt 100% free, right now.

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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.