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These 4 Measures Indicate That HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Is Using Debt Reasonably Well

These 4 Measures Indicate That HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Is Using Debt Reasonably Well

這4項指標表明HCA Healthcare(紐約證券交易所代碼:HCA)的債務使用情況相當不錯
Simply Wall St ·  05/23 00:52

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.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. Importantly, HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) does carry debt. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

有人說,波動性,而不是債務,是投資者思考風險的最佳方式,但禾倫·巴菲特曾說過一句名言:“波動性遠非風險的代名詞。”當我們思考一家公司的風險有多大時,我們總是喜歡考慮其債務的用途,因爲債務過載可能導致破產。重要的是,HCA Healthcare, Inc.(紐約證券交易所代碼:HCA)確實有債務。但是這筆債務是股東關心的問題嗎?

When Is Debt Dangerous?

債務何時危險?

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. While that is not too common, we often do see indebted companies permanently diluting shareholders because lenders force them to raise capital at a distressed price. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

債務爲企業提供幫助,直到企業難以用新資本或自由現金流還清債務。如果情況變得非常糟糕,貸款人可以控制業務。儘管這種情況並不常見,但我們經常看到負債公司永久稀釋股東,因爲貸款人迫使他們以不良价格籌集資金。但是,通過取代稀釋,對於需要資本以高回報率投資增長的企業來說,債務可能是一個非常好的工具。當我們考慮公司使用債務時,我們首先將現金和債務放在一起看。

What Is HCA Healthcare's Net Debt?

HCA Healthcare的淨負債是多少?

The chart below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that HCA Healthcare had US$40.2b in debt in March 2024; about the same as the year before. On the flip side, it has US$1.38b in cash leading to net debt of about US$38.8b.

您可以點擊下圖查看更多詳情,該圖表顯示,HCA Healthcare在2024年3月的債務爲402億美元;與前一年大致相同。另一方面,它擁有13.8億美元的現金,淨負債約爲388億美元。

debt-equity-history-analysis
NYSE:HCA Debt to Equity History May 22nd 2024
紐約證券交易所:HCA 債務與股本的比率記錄 2024 年 5 月 22 日

A Look At HCA Healthcare's Liabilities

看看 HCA Healthcare 的負債

According to the last reported balance sheet, HCA Healthcare had liabilities of US$13.1b due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$42.6b due beyond 12 months. Offsetting this, it had US$1.38b in cash and US$10.0b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$44.3b.

根據上次報告的資產負債表,HCA Healthcare的負債爲131億美元,12個月以後到期的負債爲426億美元。與此相抵消的是,它有13.8億美元的現金和100億美元的應收賬款將在12個月內到期。因此,其負債超過其現金和(短期)應收賬款總額443億美元。

While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since HCA Healthcare has a huge market capitalization of US$85.1b, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. But we definitely want to keep our eyes open to indications that its debt is bringing too much risk.

儘管這可能看起來很多,但還不錯,因爲HCA Healthcare的市值高達851億美元,因此如果需要,它可能會通過籌集資金來加強資產負債表。但是,我們絕對希望留意其債務帶來過大風險的跡象。

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.

我們通過以下方法來衡量公司的債務負擔與其盈利能力:將其淨負債除以利息、稅項、折舊和攤銷前的收益(EBITDA),並計算其利息和稅前收益(EBIT)支付利息支出(利息保障)的難易程度。這樣,我們既考慮債務的絕對數量,也考慮爲債務支付的利率。

HCA Healthcare's debt is 3.0 times its EBITDA, and its EBIT cover its interest expense 4.9 times over. This suggests that while the debt levels are significant, we'd stop short of calling them problematic. We saw HCA Healthcare grow its EBIT by 5.0% in the last twelve months. 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 ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if HCA Healthcare 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.

HCA Healthcare的債務是其息稅折舊攤銷前利潤的3.0倍,其息稅前利潤可支付其利息支出的4.9倍。這表明,儘管債務水平很高,但我們不會稱其爲有問題。在過去的十二個月中,我們看到HCA Healthcare的息稅前利潤增長了5.0%。這遠非不可思議,但在還清債務方面,這是一件好事。資產負債表顯然是分析債務時需要關注的領域。但最終,該業務的未來盈利能力將決定HCA Healthcare能否隨着時間的推移加強其資產負債表。因此,如果你想看看專業人士的想法,你可能會發現這份關於分析師利潤預測的免費報告很有趣。

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. In the last three years, HCA Healthcare's free cash flow amounted to 50% of its EBIT, less than we'd expect. That weak cash conversion makes it more difficult to handle indebtedness.

但是我們最終的考慮因素也很重要,因爲公司無法用紙面利潤來償還債務;它需要冷硬現金。因此,值得檢查一下息稅前利潤中有多少是由自由現金流支持的。在過去三年中,HCA Healthcare的自由現金流佔其息稅前利潤的50%,低於我們的預期。這種疲軟的現金轉換使得處理債務變得更加困難。

Our View

我們的觀點

We weren't impressed with HCA Healthcare's level of total liabilities, and its net debt to EBITDA made us cautious. On the other hand, we found comfort in its relatively strong EBIT growth rate. It's also worth noting that HCA Healthcare is in the Healthcare industry, which is often considered to be quite defensive. When we consider all the factors mentioned above, we do feel a bit cautious about HCA Healthcare's use of debt. While debt does have its upside in higher potential returns, we think shareholders should definitely consider how debt levels might make the stock more risky. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. 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 2 warning signs for HCA Healthcare you should know about.

HCA Healthcare的總負債水平並沒有給我們留下深刻的印象,其淨負債佔息稅折舊攤銷前利潤的比例使我們保持謹慎。另一方面,我們對其相對強勁的息稅前利潤增長率感到安慰。還值得注意的是,HCA Healthcare屬於醫療保健行業,人們通常認爲該行業具有很強的防禦性。當我們考慮上述所有因素時,我們對HCA Healthcare的債務使用確實有些謹慎。儘管債務在更高的潛在回報方面確實有其上行空間,但我們認爲股東們一定應該考慮債務水平如何使股票更具風險。資產負債表顯然是分析債務時需要關注的領域。但歸根結底,每家公司都可以控制資產負債表之外存在的風險。這些風險可能很難發現。每家公司都有它們,我們發現了兩個你應該知道的HCA Healthcare警告信號。

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.

當一切都說完之後,有時更容易將注意力集中在甚至不需要債務的公司上。讀者現在可以100%免費訪問淨負債爲零的成長型股票清單。

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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.

對這篇文章有反饋嗎?對內容感到擔憂?直接聯繫我們。 或者,給編輯團隊 (at) simplywallst.com 發送電子郵件。
Simply Wall St的這篇文章本質上是籠統的。我們僅使用公正的方法根據歷史數據和分析師的預測提供評論,我們的文章無意作爲財務建議。它不構成買入或賣出任何股票的建議,也沒有考慮到您的目標或財務狀況。我們的目標是爲您提供由基本數據驅動的長期重點分析。請注意,我們的分析可能不考慮最新的價格敏感型公司公告或定性材料。簡而言之,華爾街沒有持有任何上述股票的頭寸。

譯文內容由第三人軟體翻譯。


以上內容僅用作資訊或教育之目的,不構成與富途相關的任何投資建議。富途竭力但無法保證上述全部內容的真實性、準確性和原創性。
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