Is Graco (NYSE:GGG) A Risky Investment?

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 Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) does have debt on its balance sheet. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

When Is Debt Dangerous?

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 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. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Graco

What Is Graco's Debt?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that Graco had US$29.7m of debt in March 2024, down from US$116.9m, one year before. But it also has US$622.7m in cash to offset that, meaning it has US$593.0m net cash.

How Healthy Is Graco's Balance Sheet?

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Graco had liabilities of US$351.7m falling due within a year, and liabilities of US$99.5m due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of US$622.7m and US$321.9m worth of receivables due within a year. So it actually has US$493.4m more liquid assets than total liabilities.

This surplus suggests that Graco has a conservative balance sheet, and could probably eliminate its debt without much difficulty. Simply put, the fact that Graco has more cash than debt is arguably a good indication that it can manage its debt safely.

On the other hand, Graco saw its EBIT drop by 3.2% in the last twelve months. That sort of decline, if sustained, will obviously make debt harder to handle. 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 Graco 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.

But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. While Graco 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. Over the most recent three years, Graco recorded free cash flow worth 57% of its EBIT, which is around normal, given free cash flow excludes interest and tax. This cold hard cash means it can reduce its debt when it wants to.

Summing Up

While it is always sensible to investigate a company's debt, in this case Graco has US$593.0m in net cash and a decent-looking balance sheet. So we are not troubled with Graco's debt use. We'd be motivated to research the stock further if we found out that Graco insiders have bought shares recently. If you would too, then you're in luck, since today we're sharing our list of reported insider transactions for free.

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.

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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.