Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously said that '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. Importantly, Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) does carry debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

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. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

What Is Southwest Gas Holdings's Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at March 2024 Southwest Gas Holdings had debt of US$5.34b, up from US$5.09b in one year. However, it does have US$458.0m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about US$4.88b.

How Healthy Is Southwest Gas Holdings' Balance Sheet?

According to the last reported balance sheet, Southwest Gas Holdings had liabilities of US$1.72b due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$6.81b due beyond 12 months. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$458.0m as well as receivables valued at US$908.8m due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$7.16b.

When you consider that this deficiency exceeds the company's US$5.33b 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.

In order to size up a company's debt relative to its earnings, we calculate its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) divided by its interest expense (its interest cover). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.

Weak interest cover of 1.9 times and a disturbingly high net debt to EBITDA ratio of 5.4 hit our confidence in Southwest Gas Holdings like a one-two punch to the gut. The debt burden here is substantial. More concerning, Southwest Gas Holdings saw its EBIT drop by 2.6% in the last twelve months. If that earnings trend continues the company will face an uphill battle to pay off its debt. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Southwest Gas Holdings 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.

Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. Over the last three years, Southwest Gas Holdings saw substantial negative free cash flow, in total. While that may be a result of expenditure for growth, it does make the debt far more risky.

Our View

On the face of it, Southwest Gas Holdings's net debt to EBITDA left us tentative about the stock, and its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow was no more enticing than the one empty restaurant on the busiest night of the year. But at least its EBIT growth rate is not so bad. It's also worth noting that Southwest Gas Holdings is in the Gas Utilities industry, which is often considered to be quite defensive. After considering the datapoints discussed, we think Southwest Gas Holdings has too much debt. That sort of riskiness is ok for some, but it certainly doesn't float our boat. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Southwest Gas Holdings you should be aware of, and 1 of them is a bit concerning.

If you're interested in investing in businesses that can grow profits without the burden of debt, then check out this free list of growing businesses that have net cash on the balance sheet.

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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.