Is Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Using Too Much Debt?
Is Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Using Too Much Debt?
Howard Marks put it nicely when he said that, rather than worrying about share price volatility, 'The possibility of permanent loss is the risk I worry about... and every practical investor I know worries about.' 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, Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) does carry debt. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?
霍華德·馬克斯很好地表達了這一點,他說,與其擔心股價波動,'我擔心的是永久性損失的可能性... 我認識的每個實際投資者都擔心這個。' 當我們思考一家公司有多大風險的時候,我們總是喜歡看看它的債務使用情況,因爲債務過載可能導致滅亡。值得注意的是,戴文能源公司(紐交所: DVN)確實負債。但這些債務是否會讓股東擔憂呢?
When Is Debt A Problem?
什麼時候負債才是一個問題?
Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own 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 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, 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. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.
一般來說,只有當公司無法輕鬆償還債務時,債務才會成爲真正的問題,無論是通過籌集資本還是利用自身現金流。 資本主義的一部分是「創造性破壞」的過程,在這個過程中,破產的企業將被其銀行家無情清算。 但是,一個更加頻繁(但仍然昂貴)的情況是,一家公司必須以低於市值的價格發行股票,不斷稀釋股東的持股,以穩固其資產負債表。 當然,債務的好處是,它通常代表着廉價資本,尤其是當它取代具有高回報率再投資能力的公司縮表時。 當我們考慮公司使用債務時,我們首先看現金和債務總額。
What Is Devon Energy's Net Debt?
戴文能源的淨債務是多少?
You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that Devon Energy had US$6.14b of debt in June 2024, down from US$6.41b, one year before. However, it also had US$1.14b in cash, and so its net debt is US$5.00b.
您可以點擊下面的圖表查看歷史數據,但它顯示戴文能源於2024年6月負債614億美元,低於一年前的641億美元。然而,它也持有114億美元的現金,因此淨債務爲500億美元。
![big](https://newsfile.futunn.com/public/NN-PersistNewsContentImage/7781/20240905/0-4a524e58e043dab0339ca6b3b5cfaba9-0-c14142ae1872b441e06c3f6658001f94.png/big)
A Look At Devon Energy's Liabilities
戴文能源的負債情況
The latest balance sheet data shows that Devon Energy had liabilities of US$3.02b due within a year, and liabilities of US$9.42b falling due after that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$1.14b as well as receivables valued at US$1.59b due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$9.70b.
最新的資產負債表數據顯示,戴文能源短期負債爲30.2億美元,而長期負債爲94.2億美元。與此相對應的是,其現金爲11.4億美元,應收賬款爲15.9億美元,且在12個月內到期。因此,其負債超過了現金和(短期)應收賬款總和97億美元。
Devon Energy has a very large market capitalization of US$26.9b, 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.
戴文能源的市值非常高,達到269億美元,所以如果需要的話,它很有可能籌集資金改善資產負債表。但我們肯定要保持警惕,以免債務帶來過多風險。
We use two main ratios to inform us about debt levels relative to earnings. The first is net debt divided by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), while the second is how many times its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) covers its interest expense (or its interest cover, for short). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.
我們使用兩個主要的比率來告訴我們相對於收益的債務水平。第一個是淨債務除以利息、稅、折舊和攤銷前利潤(EBITDA),而第二個是其利潤前利息和稅(EBIT)覆蓋其利息費用的次數(或其利息覆蓋率,簡稱)。因此,我們考慮與折舊和攤銷費用相關的盈利以及沒有相關費用的盈利相對於債務水平。
Devon Energy has a low net debt to EBITDA ratio of only 0.67. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 15.2 times over. So we're pretty relaxed about its super-conservative use of debt. In fact Devon Energy's saving grace is its low debt levels, because its EBIT has tanked 27% in the last twelve months. Falling earnings (if the trend continues) could eventually make even modest debt quite risky. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Devon Energy's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.
戴文能源的淨債務與EBITDA比率僅爲0.67,且其EBIT覆蓋利息費用超過15.2倍。因此,我們對其非常謹慎地使用債務感到放心。事實上,戴文能源的救命稻草是其較低的債務水平,因爲在過去的12個月中,其EBIT下降了27%。盈利下滑(如果這一趨勢繼續下去)可能最終使即使是適度的債務也帶來相當大的風險。在分析債務水平時,資產負債表是一個明顯的起點。但決定戴文能源能否保持健康的資產負債表前進的更重要的是未來的盈利能力。所以,如果你想知道專業人士的看法,你可能會對這份免費的分析師盈利預測報告感興趣。
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. Over the most recent three years, Devon Energy recorded free cash flow worth 54% of its EBIT, which is around normal, given free cash flow excludes interest and tax. This free cash flow puts the company in a good position to pay down debt, when appropriate.
最後,儘管稅務部門可能喜歡會計利潤,但借款人只接受冰冷的現金。因此,邏輯上講的下一步是看看EBIT的哪一部分與實際的自由現金流匹配。在最近的三年中,戴文能源的自由現金流佔其EBIT的比例爲54%,這是正常的,因爲自由現金流不包括利息和稅款。這筆自由現金流使該公司有能力在適當的時候償還債務。
Our View
我們的觀點
Neither Devon Energy's ability to grow its EBIT nor its level of total liabilities gave us confidence in its ability to take on more debt. But the good news is it seems to be able to cover its interest expense with its EBIT with ease. We think that Devon Energy's debt does make it a bit risky, after considering the aforementioned data points together. That's not necessarily a bad thing, since leverage can boost returns on equity, but it is something to be aware of. 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. We've identified 1 warning sign with Devon Energy , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
戴文能源增長營業利潤的能力以及其總負債水平並未使我們對其增加債務的能力充滿信心。但好消息是,它似乎能夠輕鬆覆蓋利息支出與營業利潤。我們認爲,考慮了上述數據點之後,戴文能源的債務使其有些風險。這未必是件壞事,因爲槓桿可以提高資產回報率,但這是需要注意的事情。在分析債務水平時,資產負債表顯然是開始的地方。然而,並非所有投資風險都存在於資產負債表之內 - 遠非如此。我們已經發現了戴文能源1個警示信號,了解它們應該成爲您投資過程的一部分。
At the end of the day, it's often better to focus on companies that are free from net debt. You can access our special list of such companies (all with a track record of profit growth). It's free.
歸根結底,專注於沒有淨債務的公司往往更好。您可以訪問我們的特別列表,其中包括所有表現出盈利增長軌跡的公司。這是免費的。
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這篇文章是Simply Wall St的一般性文章。我們根據歷史數據和分析師預測提供評論,只使用公正的方法論,我們的文章並不意味着提供任何金融建議。文章不構成買賣任何股票的建議,也不考慮您的目標或您的財務狀況。我們的目標是帶給您基本數據驅動的長期關注分析。請注意,我們的分析可能不考慮最新的價格敏感公司公告或定性材料。Simply Wall St沒有任何股票頭寸。
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