Does Littelfuse (NASDAQ:LFUS) Have A Healthy Balance Sheet?
Warren Buffett famously said, '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, Littelfuse, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFUS) does carry debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.
When Is Debt A Problem?
Debt assists a business until the business has trouble paying it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. However, a more frequent (but still costly) occurrence is where a company must issue shares at bargain-basement prices, permanently diluting shareholders, just to shore up its balance sheet. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.
View our latest analysis for Littelfuse
How Much Debt Does Littelfuse Carry?
As you can see below, Littelfuse had US$680.2m of debt, at December 2020, which is about the same as the year before. You can click the chart for greater detail. But on the other hand it also has US$687.6m in cash, leading to a US$7.41m net cash position.
A Look At Littelfuse's Liabilities
Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Littelfuse had liabilities of US$275.6m due within 12 months and liabilities of US$863.2m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had US$687.6m in cash and US$232.8m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$218.5m.
Of course, Littelfuse has a market capitalization of US$6.34b, so these liabilities are probably manageable. 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, Littelfuse also has more cash than debt, so we're pretty confident it can manage its debt safely.
While Littelfuse doesn't seem to have gained much on the EBIT line, at least earnings remain stable for now. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Littelfuse's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.
Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. While Littelfuse has net cash on its balance sheet, it's still worth taking a look at its ability to convert earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, to help us understand how quickly it is building (or eroding) that cash balance. During the last three years, Littelfuse generated free cash flow amounting to a very robust 94% of its EBIT, more than we'd expect. That puts it in a very strong position to pay down debt.
Summing up
While it is always sensible to look at a company's total liabilities, it is very reassuring that Littelfuse has US$7.41m in net cash. The cherry on top was that in converted 94% of that EBIT to free cash flow, bringing in US$202m. So is Littelfuse's debt a risk? It doesn't seem so to us. 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. To that end, you should be aware of the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Littelfuse .
When all is said and done, sometimes its easier to focus on companies that don't even need debt. Readers can access a list of growth stocks with zero net debt 100% free, right now.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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