These 4 Measures Indicate That V.F (NYSE:VFC) Is Using Debt In A Risky Way

Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously said that '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. We can see that V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC) does use debt in its business. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

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. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. However, a more usual (but still expensive) situation is where a company must dilute shareholders at a cheap share price simply to get debt under control. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.

View our latest analysis for V.F

What Is V.F's Net Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that V.F had debt of US$5.95b at the end of March 2024, a reduction from US$6.63b over a year. However, it does have US$676.9m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about US$5.27b.

How Strong Is V.F's Balance Sheet?

The latest balance sheet data shows that V.F had liabilities of US$3.46b due within a year, and liabilities of US$6.50b falling due after that. On the other hand, it had cash of US$676.9m and US$1.30b worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$7.97b.

This deficit casts a shadow over the US$5.25b company, like a colossus towering over mere mortals. So we'd watch its balance sheet closely, without a doubt. At the end of the day, V.F would probably need a major re-capitalization if its creditors were to demand repayment.

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). The advantage of this approach is that we take into account both the absolute quantum of debt (with net debt to EBITDA) and the actual interest expenses associated with that debt (with its interest cover ratio).

V.F has a rather high debt to EBITDA ratio of 5.6 which suggests a meaningful debt load. However, its interest coverage of 2.8 is reasonably strong, which is a good sign. Even worse, V.F saw its EBIT tank 41% over the last 12 months. If earnings keep going like that over the long term, it has a snowball's chance in hell of paying off that debt. 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 V.F 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, 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. Over the last three years, V.F reported free cash flow worth 13% of its EBIT, which is really quite low. For us, cash conversion that low sparks a little paranoia about is ability to extinguish debt.

Our View

To be frank both V.F's level of total liabilities and its track record of (not) growing its EBIT make us rather uncomfortable with its debt levels. And even its interest cover fails to inspire much confidence. We think the chances that V.F has too much debt a very significant. To us, that makes the stock rather risky, like walking through a dog park with your eyes closed. But some investors may feel differently. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. These risks can be hard to spot. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for V.F (of which 1 is significant!) you should know about.

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.

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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.

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