These 4 Measures Indicate That IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) Is Using Debt Reasonably Well

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.' 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 can see that IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDXX) does use debt in its business. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

Debt assists a business until the business has trouble paying it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. 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. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

Check out our latest analysis for IDEXX Laboratories

What Is IDEXX Laboratories's Debt?

As you can see below, at the end of June 2022, IDEXX Laboratories had US$1.38b of debt, up from US$905.1m a year ago. Click the image for more detail. On the flip side, it has US$114.4m in cash leading to net debt of about US$1.26b.

A Look At IDEXX Laboratories' Liabilities

According to the last reported balance sheet, IDEXX Laboratories had liabilities of US$1.17b due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$983.6m due beyond 12 months. Offsetting this, it had US$114.4m in cash and US$473.1m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities total US$1.56b more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

Given IDEXX Laboratories has a humongous market capitalization of US$33.0b, it's hard to believe these liabilities pose much threat. But there are sufficient liabilities that we would certainly recommend shareholders continue to monitor the balance sheet, going forward.

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). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.

IDEXX Laboratories's net debt is only 1.3 times its EBITDA. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 29.2 times over. So you could argue it is no more threatened by its debt than an elephant is by a mouse. IDEXX Laboratories's EBIT was pretty flat over the last year, but that shouldn't be an issue given the it doesn't have a lot of 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 IDEXX Laboratories can strengthen its balance sheet over time. 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. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. Over the most recent three years, IDEXX Laboratories recorded free cash flow worth 64% of its EBIT, which is around normal, given free cash flow excludes interest and tax. This free cash flow puts the company in a good position to pay down debt, when appropriate.

Our View

The good news is that IDEXX Laboratories's demonstrated ability to cover its interest expense with its EBIT delights us like a fluffy puppy does a toddler. And that's just the beginning of the good news since its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow is also very heartening. It's also worth noting that IDEXX Laboratories is in the Medical Equipment industry, which is often considered to be quite defensive. Taking all this data into account, it seems to us that IDEXX Laboratories takes a pretty sensible approach to debt. While that brings some risk, it can also enhance returns for shareholders. 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. For example - IDEXX Laboratories has 1 warning sign we think 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.