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 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 note that Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation (NYSE:BIPC) does have debt on its balance sheet. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

When Is Debt A Problem?

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. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. However, a more usual (but still expensive) situation is where a company must dilute shareholders at a cheap share price simply to get debt under control. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

What Is Brookfield Infrastructure's Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of March 2024 Brookfield Infrastructure had US$13.6b of debt, an increase on US$4.99b, over one year. On the flip side, it has US$399.0m in cash leading to net debt of about US$13.2b.

How Strong Is Brookfield Infrastructure's Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Brookfield Infrastructure had liabilities of US$6.12b due within 12 months and liabilities of US$14.9b due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$399.0m as well as receivables valued at US$2.71b due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling US$17.9b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

The deficiency here weighs heavily on the US$5.33b 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'd watch its balance sheet closely, without a doubt. After all, Brookfield Infrastructure would likely require a major re-capitalisation if it had to pay its creditors today.

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.

Brookfield Infrastructure shareholders face the double whammy of a high net debt to EBITDA ratio (5.6), and fairly weak interest coverage, since EBIT is just 2.4 times the interest expense. This means we'd consider it to have a heavy debt load. Looking on the bright side, Brookfield Infrastructure boosted its EBIT by a silky 44% in the last year. Like the milk of human kindness that sort of growth increases resilience, making the company more capable of managing debt. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Brookfield Infrastructure'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, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So we clearly need to look at whether that EBIT is leading to corresponding free cash flow. In the last three years, Brookfield Infrastructure's free cash flow amounted to 31% of its EBIT, less than we'd expect. That's not great, when it comes to paying down debt.

Our View

On the face of it, Brookfield Infrastructure's net debt to EBITDA left us tentative about the stock, and its level of total liabilities was no more enticing than the one empty restaurant on the busiest night of the year. But on the bright side, its EBIT growth rate is a good sign, and makes us more optimistic. It's also worth noting that Brookfield Infrastructure is in the Gas Utilities industry, which is often considered to be quite defensive. Looking at the bigger picture, it seems clear to us that Brookfield Infrastructure's use of debt is creating risks for the company. If all goes well, that should boost returns, but on the flip side, the risk of permanent capital loss is elevated by the debt. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Brookfield Infrastructure (1 is concerning) you should be aware of.

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