David Iben put it well when he said, 'Volatility is not a risk we care about. What we care about is avoiding the 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. As with many other companies iLearningEngines, Inc. (NASDAQ:AILE) makes use of debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

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 usual (but still expensive) situation is where a company must dilute shareholders at a cheap share price simply to get debt under control. 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. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

How Much Debt Does iLearningEngines Carry?

As you can see below, at the end of June 2024, iLearningEngines had US$109.7m of debt, up from US$80.8m a year ago. Click the image for more detail. However, it does have US$39.2m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about US$70.4m.

A Look At iLearningEngines' Liabilities

According to the last reported balance sheet, iLearningEngines had liabilities of US$38.5m due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$115.3m due beyond 12 months. On the other hand, it had cash of US$39.2m and US$91.4m worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$23.1m.

Since publicly traded iLearningEngines shares are worth a total of US$660.7m, it seems unlikely that this level of liabilities would be a major threat. However, we do think it is worth keeping an eye on its balance sheet strength, as it may change over time. 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 iLearningEngines can strengthen its balance sheet over time. 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 iLearningEngines wasn't profitable at an EBIT level, but managed to grow its revenue by 34%, to US$486m. Shareholders probably have their fingers crossed that it can grow its way to profits.

Caveat Emptor

Even though iLearningEngines managed to grow its top line quite deftly, the cold hard truth is that it is losing money on the EBIT line. To be specific the EBIT loss came in at US$44m. Considering that alongside the liabilities mentioned above does not give us much confidence that company should be using so much debt. So we think its balance sheet is a little strained, though not beyond repair. Another cause for caution is that is bled US$19m in negative free cash flow over the last twelve months. So to be blunt we think it is risky. 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. We've identified 2 warning signs with iLearningEngines , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

Of course, if you're the type of investor who prefers buying stocks without the burden of debt, then don't hesitate to discover our exclusive list of net cash growth stocks, today.

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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.