Is Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) A Risky Investment?

The external fund manager backed by Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger, Li Lu, makes no bones about it when he says '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, Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ:BSY) does carry debt. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

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. 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. 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.

View our latest analysis for Bentley Systems

How Much Debt Does Bentley Systems Carry?

As you can see below, Bentley Systems had US$1.53b of debt at December 2023, down from US$1.78b a year prior. On the flip side, it has US$68.4m in cash leading to net debt of about US$1.46b.

A Look At Bentley Systems' Liabilities

The latest balance sheet data shows that Bentley Systems had liabilities of US$760.4m due within a year, and liabilities of US$1.68b falling due after that. On the other hand, it had cash of US$68.4m and US$293.5m worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling US$2.07b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

Of course, Bentley Systems has a titanic market capitalization of US$17.1b, so these liabilities are probably manageable. However, we do think it is worth keeping an eye on its balance sheet strength, as it may change over time.

We measure a company's debt load relative to its earnings power by looking at its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and by calculating how easily its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) cover its interest expense (interest cover). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.

Bentley Systems has a debt to EBITDA ratio of 4.7 and its EBIT covered its interest expense 7.0 times. This suggests that while the debt levels are significant, we'd stop short of calling them problematic. If Bentley Systems can keep growing EBIT at last year's rate of 14% over the last year, then it will find its debt load easier to manage. 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 Bentley Systems 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 the logical step is to look at the proportion of that EBIT that is matched by actual free cash flow. Happily for any shareholders, Bentley Systems actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT over the last three years. That sort of strong cash generation warms our hearts like a puppy in a bumblebee suit.

Our View

Happily, Bentley Systems's impressive conversion of EBIT to free cash flow implies it has the upper hand on its debt. But we must concede we find its net debt to EBITDA has the opposite effect. When we consider the range of factors above, it looks like Bentley Systems is pretty sensible with its use of debt. While that brings some risk, it can also enhance returns for shareholders. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Bentley Systems .

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.