Is Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) 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 Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) does have debt on its balance sheet. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

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When Is Debt A Problem?

Debt assists a business until the business has trouble paying it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. 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, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

What Is Kimberly-Clark's Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that Kimberly-Clark had debt of US$7.28b at the end of March 2025, a reduction from US$8.00b over a year. However, because it has a cash reserve of US$563.0m, its net debt is less, at about US$6.72b.

How Healthy Is Kimberly-Clark's Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Kimberly-Clark had liabilities of US$6.92b due within 12 months and liabilities of US$8.16b due beyond that. On the other hand, it had cash of US$563.0m and US$2.18b worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities total US$12.3b more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

Kimberly-Clark has a very large market capitalization of US$43.8b, so it could very likely raise cash to ameliorate its balance sheet, if the need arose. But we definitely want to keep our eyes open to indications that its debt is bringing too much risk.

Check out our latest analysis for Kimberly-Clark

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.

Kimberly-Clark's net debt to EBITDA ratio of about 1.7 suggests only moderate use of debt. And its strong interest cover of 13.9 times, makes us even more comfortable. Kimberly-Clark grew its EBIT by 3.7% in the last year. That's far from incredible but it is a good thing, when it comes to paying off 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 Kimberly-Clark'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, a business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. So we clearly need to look at whether that EBIT is leading to corresponding free cash flow. During the last three years, Kimberly-Clark generated free cash flow amounting to a very robust 84% of its EBIT, more than we'd expect. That puts it in a very strong position to pay down debt.

Our View

The good news is that Kimberly-Clark'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. Taking all this data into account, it seems to us that Kimberly-Clark takes a pretty sensible approach to debt. That means they are taking on a bit more risk, in the hope of boosting shareholder returns. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Kimberly-Clark that you should be aware of.

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.