These 4 Measures Indicate That Dorman Products (NASDAQ:DORM) Is Using Debt Reasonably Well

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.' It's only natural to consider a company's balance sheet when you examine how risky it is, since debt is often involved when a business collapses. As with many other companies Dorman Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:DORM) makes use of debt. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

Our free stock report includes 1 warning sign investors should be aware of before investing in Dorman Products. Read for free now.

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

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. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. 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. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

What Is Dorman Products's Net Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Dorman Products had debt of US$461.5m at the end of March 2025, a reduction from US$561.0m over a year. However, it also had US$60.6m in cash, and so its net debt is US$400.9m.

How Healthy Is Dorman Products' Balance Sheet?

According to the last reported balance sheet, Dorman Products had liabilities of US$526.2m due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$564.2m due beyond 12 months. On the other hand, it had cash of US$60.6m and US$555.1m worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling US$474.7m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

Since publicly traded Dorman Products shares are worth a total of US$3.86b, 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Dorman Products

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.

With net debt sitting at just 1.1 times EBITDA, Dorman Products is arguably pretty conservatively geared. And this view is supported by the solid interest coverage, with EBIT coming in at 8.8 times the interest expense over the last year. On top of that, Dorman Products grew its EBIT by 39% over the last twelve months, and that growth will make it easier to handle its debt. 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 Dorman Products'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, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. During the last three years, Dorman Products produced sturdy free cash flow equating to 51% of its EBIT, about what we'd expect. This cold hard cash means it can reduce its debt when it wants to.

Our View

The good news is that Dorman Products's demonstrated ability to grow its EBIT delights us like a fluffy puppy does a toddler. And that's just the beginning of the good news since its interest cover is also very heartening. Zooming out, Dorman Products seems to use debt quite reasonably; and that gets the nod from us. While debt does bring risk, when used wisely it can also bring a higher return on equity. 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 1 warning sign for Dorman Products you should be aware of.

At the end of the day, it's often better to focus on companies that are free from net debt. You can access our special list of such companies (all with a track record of profit growth). It's free.

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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.