Is Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Using Too Much Debt?
Is Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Using Too Much Debt?
Warren Buffett famously said, 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' 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. We note that Strategic Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRA) does have debt on its balance sheet. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.
沃伦·巴菲特曾经说过:“波动性远非风险的同义词。”因此,看来聪明的投资者知道,在评估公司风险时通常与破产有关的债务是一个非常重要的因素。我们注意到Strategic Education, Inc.(纳斯达克:STRA)的资产负债表上确实有债务。但真正的问题是,这些债务是否会让公司变得更加风险。
What Risk Does Debt Bring?
债务带来了什么风险?
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 common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. 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.
债务和其他负债对企业构成风险的核心问题在于,企业无法轻松地通过自由现金流或获得具有吸引力价格的资本来满足这些义务。在最坏的情况下,如果企业无法偿还其债权人,公司就可能破产。然而,更常见但仍然痛苦的情况是,其必须以低价发行新的股权资本,从而永久性地稀释股东的权益。当然,很多公司使用债务来融资增长,而没有任何负面后果。当我们检查债务水平时,首先要考虑现金和债务水平。
What Is Strategic Education's Debt?
Strategic Education的债务情况如何?
As you can see below, Strategic Education had US$61.3m of debt at June 2024, down from US$101.3m a year prior. But on the other hand it also has US$256.2m in cash, leading to a US$194.9m net cash position.
正如下面所示,截至2024年6月,Strategic Education的债务总额为6130万美元,较去年同期的10130万美元有所减少。另一方面,它也拥有25620万美元的现金,导致其净现金头寸为19490万美元。
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How Strong Is Strategic Education's Balance Sheet?
Strategic Education的资产负债表有多强大?
We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Strategic Education had liabilities of US$253.4m falling due within a year, and liabilities of US$246.0m due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of US$256.2m and US$89.6m worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling US$153.5m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.
我们可以从最近的资产负债表看出,截至明年到期的负债为25340万美元,而到期时间更长的负债为24600万美元。另一方面,它拥有25620万美元的现金和8960万美元的应收账款到期。因此,其负债总额比其现金和短期应收账款的总和高出15350万美元。
Since publicly traded Strategic Education shares are worth a total of US$2.57b, it seems unlikely that this level of liabilities would be a major threat. But there are sufficient liabilities that we would certainly recommend shareholders continue to monitor the balance sheet, going forward. While it does have liabilities worth noting, Strategic Education also has more cash than debt, so we're pretty confident it can manage its debt safely.
由于上市的Strategic Education股票总值为25.7亿美元,因此这些负债似乎不会构成重大威胁。但是,负债足够多,我们必须继续关注资产负债表。虽然它确实有值得注意的债务,但Strategic Education拥有的现金比债务多,因此我们非常有信心可以安全地管理其债务。
Even more impressive was the fact that Strategic Education grew its EBIT by 170% over twelve months. That boost will make it even easier to pay down debt going forward. 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 Strategic Education 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.
更令人印象深刻的是,Strategic Education在十二个月内将其EBIt增长了170%。这种增长将使其更容易在未来偿还债务。当你分析债务时,明显的重点是资产负债表。但是最终,企业未来的盈利能力将决定Strategic Education是否可以逐渐加强其资产负债表。因此,如果你想看看专业人士的看法,可以看一下这份免费的分析师盈利预测报告。
Finally, a business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. Strategic Education 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. During the last three years, Strategic Education generated free cash flow amounting to a very robust 87% of its EBIT, more than we'd expect. That puts it in a very strong position to pay down debt.
最后,企业需要自由现金流来偿还债务;会计利润无法解决问题。虽然Strategic Education在资产负债表上拥有净现金,但查看企业将其利润(利前息税—EBIT)转化为自由现金流情况仍然很有趣,因为这将影响其管理债务的需求和能力。在过去三年中,Strategic Education产生了非常强大的自由现金流,相当于其EBIt的87%,超出了预期。这使其在偿还债务方面处于非常强劲的地位。
Summing Up
总之
While it is always sensible to look at a company's total liabilities, it is very reassuring that Strategic Education has US$194.9m in net cash. The cherry on top was that in converted 87% of that EBIT to free cash flow, bringing in US$139m. So is Strategic Education's debt a risk? It doesn't seem so to us. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. Be aware that Strategic Education is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...
虽然查看企业总负债是明智的,但Strategic Education拥有19490万美元的净现金仍然令人放心。最好的是,它在将87%的EBIt转化为自由现金流时顺畅,带来了13900万美元的收入。因此,Strategic Education的债务是否存在风险?对我们来说似乎不是这样。在分析债务水平时,资产负债表是一个明显的起点。但是,最终,每个公司都可能存在超出资产负债表之外的风险。请注意,我们的投资分析显示Strategic Education存在1个预警信号,您应该了解该信号...
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.
如果您有兴趣投资能够在不负债的情况下增长利润的企业,请查看这份免费列表,其中列出了在资产负债表上拥有净现金的成长型企业。
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Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com
对本文有任何反馈?对内容有任何疑虑?请直接与我们联系。或者,发送电子邮件至editorial-team@simplywallst.com。