Is Personalis (NASDAQ:PSNL) Using Debt In A Risky Way?

Legendary fund manager Li Lu (who Charlie Munger backed) once said, 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.' So it might be obvious that you need to consider debt, when you think about how risky any given stock is, because too much debt can sink a company. Importantly, Personalis, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSNL) does carry debt. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

Debt assists a business until the business has trouble paying it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. 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, the upside of debt is that it often represents cheap capital, especially when it replaces dilution in a company with the ability to reinvest 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 Personalis

How Much Debt Does Personalis Carry?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of September 2021 Personalis had US$3.44m of debt, an increase on none, over one year. However, it does have US$305.2m in cash offsetting this, leading to net cash of US$301.8m.

A Look At Personalis' Liabilities

We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Personalis had liabilities of US$26.5m falling due within a year, and liabilities of US$54.9m due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had US$305.2m in cash and US$10.5m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it actually has US$234.4m more liquid assets than total liabilities.

This surplus strongly suggests that Personalis has a rock-solid balance sheet (and the debt is of no concern whatsoever). On this view, lenders should feel as safe as the beloved of a black-belt karate master. Simply put, the fact that Personalis has more cash than debt is arguably a good indication that it can manage its debt safely. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Personalis 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.

Over 12 months, Personalis reported revenue of US$85m, which is a gain of 11%, although it did not report any earnings before interest and tax. That rate of growth is a bit slow for our taste, but it takes all types to make a world.

So How Risky Is Personalis?

We have no doubt that loss making companies are, in general, riskier than profitable ones. And we do note that Personalis had an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss, over the last year. And over the same period it saw negative free cash outflow of US$66m and booked a US$58m accounting loss. While this does make the company a bit risky, it's important to remember it has net cash of US$301.8m. That means it could keep spending at its current rate for more than two years. Even though its balance sheet seems sufficiently liquid, debt always makes us a little nervous if a company doesn't produce free cash flow regularly. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Personalis 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.