Yahoo Finance Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) Seems To Use Debt Quite Sensibly
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. As with many other companies Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) makes use of debt. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?
When Is Debt A Problem?
Debt is a tool to help businesses grow, but if a business is incapable of paying off its lenders, then it exists at their mercy. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. 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 step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.
Check out our latest analysis for Becton Dickinson
How Much Debt Does Becton Dickinson Carry?
As you can see below, Becton Dickinson had US$18.2b of debt, at March 2023, which is about the same as the year before. You can click the chart for greater detail. On the flip side, it has US$1.99b in cash leading to net debt of about US$16.2b.
How Healthy Is Becton Dickinson's Balance Sheet?
We can see from the most recent balance sheet that Becton Dickinson had liabilities of US$7.30b falling due within a year, and liabilities of US$21.4b due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$1.99b as well as receivables valued at US$2.41b due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$24.3b.
While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since Becton Dickinson has a huge market capitalization of US$68.5b, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. However, it is still worthwhile taking a close look at its ability to pay off debt.
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). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.
Becton Dickinson has a debt to EBITDA ratio of 3.4 and its EBIT covered its interest expense 6.4 times. Taken together this implies that, while we wouldn't want to see debt levels rise, we think it can handle its current leverage. Becton Dickinson grew its EBIT by 4.1% in the last year. Whilst that hardly knocks our socks off it is a positive when it comes to debt. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Becton Dickinson 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.
But our final consideration is also important, because a company cannot pay debt with paper profits; it needs cold hard cash. So it's worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. Over the last three years, Becton Dickinson recorded free cash flow worth a fulsome 92% of its EBIT, which is stronger than we'd usually expect. That puts it in a very strong position to pay down debt.
Our View
Becton Dickinson's conversion of EBIT to free cash flow suggests it can handle its debt as easily as Cristiano Ronaldo could score a goal against an under 14's goalkeeper. But truth be told we feel its net debt to EBITDA does undermine this impression a bit. It's also worth noting that Becton Dickinson is in the Medical Equipment industry, which is often considered to be quite defensive. All these things considered, it appears that Becton Dickinson can comfortably handle its current debt levels. On the plus side, this leverage can boost shareholder returns, but the potential downside is more risk of loss, so it's worth monitoring the balance sheet. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. 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 1 warning sign for Becton Dickinson you should know about.
When all is said and done, sometimes its easier to focus on companies that don't even need debt. Readers can access a list of growth stocks with zero net debt 100% free, right now.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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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