Maire (BIT:MAIRE) Has A Rock Solid Balance Sheet

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. Importantly, Maire S.p.A. (BIT:MAIRE) does carry debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

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What Risk Does Debt Bring?

Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. 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. Having said that, the most common situation is where a company manages its debt reasonably well - and to its own advantage. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

What Is Maire's Net Debt?

The chart below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Maire had €842.3m in debt in September 2025; about the same as the year before. But on the other hand it also has €1.22b in cash, leading to a €379.6m net cash position.

A Look At Maire's Liabilities

According to the last reported balance sheet, Maire had liabilities of €6.50b due within 12 months, and liabilities of €1.05b due beyond 12 months. On the other hand, it had cash of €1.22b and €5.04b worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling €1.29b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since Maire has a market capitalization of €4.09b, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. But it's clear that we should definitely closely examine whether it can manage its debt without dilution. While it does have liabilities worth noting, Maire also has more cash than debt, so we're pretty confident it can manage its debt safely.

View our latest analysis for Maire

Another good sign is that Maire has been able to increase its EBIT by 22% in twelve months, making it easier to pay down debt. 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 Maire 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 business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. While Maire 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, Maire generated free cash flow amounting to a very robust 88% of its EBIT, more than we'd expect. That puts it in a very strong position to pay down debt.

Summing Up

While Maire does have more liabilities than liquid assets, it also has net cash of €379.6m. And it impressed us with free cash flow of €216m, being 88% of its EBIT. So is Maire'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. These risks can be hard to spot. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Maire you should know about.

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.

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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.