Here's Why Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Has A Meaningful Debt Burden
Here's Why Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Has A Meaningful Debt Burden
Howard Marks put it nicely when he said that, rather than worrying about share price volatility, 'The possibility of permanent loss is the risk I worry about... and every practical investor I know worries about.' So it seems the smart money knows that debt - which is usually involved in bankruptcies - is a very important factor, when you assess how risky a company is. Importantly, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) does carry debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?
霍華德·馬克斯說得好,我們不應只關注股價波動,而是關注“可能造成永久損失的風險……我所認識的每位實踐投資者都會擔心這個問題。” 因此,看起來明智的投資人知道,債務(通常涉及破產的因素)是評估公司風險的一個非常重要的因素。重要的是,沃爾格林-聯合博姿公司(NASDAQ:WBA)確實有債務。但股東們是否應該擔心該公司的借債情況呢?
Why Does Debt Bring Risk?
爲什麼債務會帶來風險?
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. While that is not too common, we often do see indebted companies permanently diluting shareholders because lenders force them to raise capital at a distressed price. 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 examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.
債務可以協助企業,在企業遇到困境時償還債務,可以通過新資本或自由現金流來償還。如果情況變得非常糟糕,貸款人可以控制企業。雖然這並不太常見,但我們經常會看到負債的公司因貸款人強迫其以壓低價格的價格籌集資金而永久地稀釋股東。通過代替稀釋,債務可以成爲需要資本以高回報率投資增長的企業的極好工具。在我們研究負債水平時,我們首先考慮現金和負債水平。
What Is Walgreens Boots Alliance's Debt?
沃爾格林-聯合博姿公司的債務是多少?
As you can see below, Walgreens Boots Alliance had US$8.91b of debt at May 2024, down from US$11.9b a year prior. However, it also had US$711.0m in cash, and so its net debt is US$8.20b.
正如下圖所示,在2024年5月,沃爾格林-聯合博姿公司的債務總額爲89.1億美元,較去年同期的119億美元有所下降。然而,該公司也擁有7,110萬美元的現金,因此其淨債務爲82億美元。
![big](https://usnewsfile.moomoo.com/public/MM-PersistNewsContentImage/7781/20240715/0-22ea4b9406a0685eb29015c2d77ef1c4-0-34f07949afea1bef34bc04ddd89fe360.png/big)
How Strong Is Walgreens Boots Alliance's Balance Sheet?
沃爾格林-聯合博姿公司的資產負債表有多強?
We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Walgreens Boots Alliance had liabilities of US$25.0b falling due within a year, and liabilities of US$42.5b due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had US$711.0m in cash and US$5.95b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$60.9b.
我們可以從最近的資產負債表中看到,沃爾格林-聯合博姿公司的短期負債爲250億美元,長期負債爲425億美元。相對應的,其現金爲7110萬美元,應收賬款爲5.95億美元。因此,其負債總額超過其現金和(短期)應收賬款的總和達到609億美元。
This deficit casts a shadow over the US$9.93b company, like a colossus towering over mere mortals. So we'd watch its balance sheet closely, without a doubt. After all, Walgreens Boots Alliance would likely require a major re-capitalisation if it had to pay its creditors today.
這種差額就像一個高聳的巨人,籠罩在99.3億美元公司上。所以我們會密切關注其資產負債表,毫無疑問。畢竟,如果沃爾格林-聯合博姿今天必須支付其債權人,那麼該公司很可能需要進行重大的資本重組。
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). The advantage of this approach is that we take into account both the absolute quantum of debt (with net debt to EBITDA) and the actual interest expenses associated with that debt (with its interest cover ratio).
爲了考察公司債務與盈利的相對關係,我們計算其淨債務與利息、稅、折舊和攤銷前利潤(EBITDA)的比值以及其利息支出(利息保障倍數)與利潤之前的利潤(EBIT)的比值。這種方法的優點是,我們考慮了與債務相關的絕對量(淨債務與EBITDA)和實際利息開支(利息保障倍數)的實際利潤。
Walgreens Boots Alliance has net debt worth 2.3 times EBITDA, which isn't too much, but its interest cover looks a bit on the low side, with EBIT at only 3.1 times the interest expense. In large part that's due to the company's significant depreciation and amortisation charges, which arguably mean its EBITDA is a very generous measure of earnings, and its debt may be more of a burden than it first appears. Importantly, Walgreens Boots Alliance grew its EBIT by 34% over the last twelve months, and that growth will make it easier to handle its 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 Walgreens Boots Alliance'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.
沃爾格林-聯合博姿的淨負債爲EBITDA的2.3倍,這並不算太多,但其利息保障比看起來有點低,EBIt僅爲利息支出的3.1倍。在很大程度上,這歸因於該公司的大量折舊和攤銷費用,這可謂是其EBITDA盈利的非常優越的度量標準,其債務可能比首次出現時更具負擔。重要的是,沃爾格林-聯合博姿公司在過去12個月裏將其EBIT增長了34%,這種增長將使其更容易處理其債務。毫無疑問,我們從資產負債表中了解的關於債務的信息最爲重要。但對於部分投資風險,其並不僅僅來自於資產負債表。因此,您應該了解我們發現的沃爾格林-聯合博姿的2個警告信號。
Finally, a business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. So the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. Looking at the most recent three years, Walgreens Boots Alliance recorded free cash flow of 28% of its EBIT, which is weaker than we'd expect. That's not great, when it comes to paying down debt.
最後,企業需要自由現金流來償還債務;而會計利潤不能達到這一目標。因此,邏輯的下一步是查看實際自由現金流與其EBIT的比例。在最近的三年中,沃爾格林-聯合博姿公司的自由現金流只佔到其EBIT的28%,這比我們預期的要弱。在償還債務方面,這並不太好。
Our View
我們的觀點
Mulling over Walgreens Boots Alliance's attempt at staying on top of its total liabilities, we're certainly not enthusiastic. But at least it's pretty decent at growing its EBIT; that's encouraging. Looking at the bigger picture, it seems clear to us that Walgreens Boots Alliance'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. 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. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Walgreens Boots Alliance .
觀察沃爾格林-聯合博姿公司試圖應對其總負債的情況,我們並不熱衷。但至少該公司在增長其EBIT方面表現相當不俗。從更宏觀的角度來看,我們認爲沃爾格林-聯合博姿公司的債務使用正在爲該公司帶來風險。如果一切順利,這將提高回報,但反過來,永久資本損失的風險也會因此升高。分析債務水平時,資產負債表是顯而易見的起點。然而,並非所有的投資風險都存在於資產負債表之內。考慮到這一點,您應該了解我們發現的沃爾格林-聯合博姿的2個警告信號。
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.
當然,如果您是那種喜歡購買沒有負債負擔的股票的投資者,則今天就可以發現我們的獨家淨現金增長股清單。
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
對本文有反饋?關注內容?請直接與我們聯繫。或者,發送電子郵件至editorial-team@simplywallst.com。
這篇文章是Simply Wall St的一般性文章。我們根據歷史數據和分析師預測提供評論,只使用公正的方法論,我們的文章並不意味着提供任何金融建議。文章不構成買賣任何股票的建議,也不考慮您的目標或您的財務狀況。我們的目標是帶給您基本數據驅動的長期關注分析。請注意,我們的分析可能不考慮最新的價格敏感公司公告或定性材料。Simply Wall St沒有任何股票頭寸。
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com
對本文有反饋? 對內容感到擔憂? 請直接與我們聯繫。 或者,發送電子郵件至editorial-team@simplywallst.com。