Warren Buffett famously said, 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' 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 Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) does use debt in its business. 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, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

How Much Debt Does Electronic Arts Carry?

As you can see below, Electronic Arts had US$1.88b of debt, at March 2024, which is about the same as the year before. You can click the chart for greater detail. But it also has US$3.26b in cash to offset that, meaning it has US$1.38b net cash.

How Strong Is Electronic Arts' Balance Sheet?

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Electronic Arts had liabilities of US$3.09b falling due within a year, and liabilities of US$2.82b due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$3.26b as well as receivables valued at US$565.0m due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling US$2.08b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

Of course, Electronic Arts has a titanic market capitalization of US$37.0b, so these liabilities are probably manageable. However, we do think it is worth keeping an eye on its balance sheet strength, as it may change over time. While it does have liabilities worth noting, Electronic Arts also has more cash than debt, so we're pretty confident it can manage its debt safely.

The good news is that Electronic Arts has increased its EBIT by 8.1% over twelve months, which should ease any concerns about debt repayment. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Electronic Arts'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.

Finally, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. Electronic Arts may have net cash on the balance sheet, but it is still interesting to look at how well the business converts its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, because that will influence both its need for, and its capacity to manage debt. Over the last three years, Electronic Arts actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT. That sort of strong cash conversion gets us as excited as the crowd when the beat drops at a Daft Punk concert.

Summing Up

We could understand if investors are concerned about Electronic Arts's liabilities, but we can be reassured by the fact it has has net cash of US$1.38b. And it impressed us with free cash flow of US$2.1b, being 119% of its EBIT. So is Electronic Arts's debt a risk? It doesn't seem so to us. Another factor that would give us confidence in Electronic Arts would be if insiders have been buying shares: if you're conscious of that signal too, you can find out instantly by clicking this link.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com