Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Seems To Use Debt Rather Sparingly
Eaton (NYSE:ETN) Seems To Use Debt Rather Sparingly
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. As with many other companies Eaton Corporation plc (NYSE:ETN) makes use of debt. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?
傳奇基金經理李露(查理·芒格支持的)曾說過:『最大的投資風險不是價格的波動,而是你是否會遭受資本的永久損失。』因此,當你思考任何股票的風險時,很顯然你需要考慮債務,因爲過多的債務會將公司拖垮。與許多其他公司一樣,伊頓公司(NYSE:ETN)也使用債務。但更重要的問題是:這種債務造成了多少風險?
When Is Debt Dangerous?
債務何時會變得危險?
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 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. Having said that, the most common situation is where a company manages its debt reasonably well - and to its own advantage. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.
債務可以幫助企業,直到企業在還清債務時出現問題,無論是通過新資本還是自由現金流。資本主義的一個組成部分是『創造性毀滅』的過程,失敗的企業被他們的銀行無情地清算。然而,更常見(但仍然代價高昂)的情況是,公司必須以低得出奇的價格發行股票,永久稀釋股東的權益,僅僅是爲了穩定其資產負債表。話雖如此,最常見的情況是公司合理管理其債務,並讓自己受益。考慮公司的債務水平時,第一步是將其現金和債務放在一起考慮。
What Is Eaton's Net Debt?
伊頓的淨債務是多少?
As you can see below, at the end of September 2024, Eaton had US$9.40b of debt, up from US$8.17b a year ago. Click the image for more detail. However, it also had US$1.99b in cash, and so its net debt is US$7.40b.
正如下方所示,截至2024年9月底,伊頓的債務爲94億美元,比一年前的81.7億美元有所增加。點擊圖片獲取更多細節。不過,它的現金也有19.9億美元,因此其淨債務爲74億美元。
How Strong Is Eaton's Balance Sheet?
伊頓的資產負債表有多強?
According to the last reported balance sheet, Eaton had liabilities of US$7.94b due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$12.1b due beyond 12 months. Offsetting this, it had US$1.99b in cash and US$5.24b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$12.8b.
根據最後報告的資產負債表,伊頓在12個月內有79.4億美元的負債,超過12個月的負債爲121億美元。抵消這一點的是,它在現金中有19.9億美元和在12個月內到期的應收款項52.4億美元。因此,其負債超過現金和(短期)應收款項總和128億美元。
Since publicly traded Eaton shares are worth a very impressive total of US$133.6b, it seems unlikely that this level of liabilities would be a major threat. But there are sufficient liabilities that we would certainly recommend shareholders continue to monitor the balance sheet, going forward.
由於上市的伊頓股票總值達到令人印象深刻的1336億美元,因此這水平的負債似乎不會成爲重大威脅。但負債的確足夠,我們肯定建議股東繼續關注資產負債表。
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.
我們通過看淨債務與息稅折舊及攤銷前利潤(EBITDA)的比率,以及計算其息稅前利潤(EBIT)如何輕鬆地覆蓋利息費用(利息覆蓋)來衡量一家公司相對於其獲利能力的債務負擔。這樣,我們既考慮了債務的絕對量,也考慮了其支付的利率。
Eaton's net debt is only 1.4 times its EBITDA. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 34.9 times over. So we're pretty relaxed about its super-conservative use of debt. Also positive, Eaton grew its EBIT by 22% in the last year, and that should make it easier to pay down debt, going forward. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Eaton's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.
伊頓的淨債務僅爲其EBITDA的1.4倍。而其EBIT可以覆蓋利息支出的34.9倍。因此,我們對其極其保守的債務使用感到相當輕鬆。還有積極的一點是,伊頓在過去一年中其EBIT增長了22%,這應當使其在未來償還債務更爲容易。在分析債務時,資產負債表無疑是重點關注的領域。但未來的收益,遠比其他任何因素,都將判斷伊頓在未來維持健康資產負債表的能力。因此,如果你關注未來,可以查看這份免費的報告,展示分析師的利潤預測。
Finally, a business needs free cash flow to pay off debt; accounting profits just don't cut it. So we clearly need to look at whether that EBIT is leading to corresponding free cash flow. During the last three years, Eaton produced sturdy free cash flow equating to 69% of its EBIT, about what we'd expect. This free cash flow puts the company in a good position to pay down debt, when appropriate.
最後,一家企業需要自由現金流來償還債務;會計利潤根本無法彌補。因此,我們顯然需要查看EBIT是否對應生成自有現金流。在過去三年中,伊頓產生了強勁的自由現金流,佔其EBIT的69%,這大約是我們所期望的。這個自由現金流使得公司在適當的時候能夠償還債務。
Our View
我們的觀點
Happily, Eaton's impressive interest cover implies it has the upper hand on its debt. And that's just the beginning of the good news since its EBIT growth rate is also very heartening. Looking at the bigger picture, we think Eaton's use of debt seems quite reasonable and we're not concerned about it. After all, sensible leverage can boost returns on equity. 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. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Eaton that you should be aware of before investing here.
令人欣慰的是,伊頓令人印象深刻的利息覆蓋率意味着它在債務上佔據優勢。 而且這只是好消息的開始,因爲它的EBIT增長率也非常令人振奮。 從更大的角度看,我們認爲伊頓的債務使用似乎相當合理,我們對此並不擔心。 畢竟,合理的槓桿可以提升股本回報率。 在分析債務水平時,資產負債表無疑是一個明顯的起點。 然而,並非所有的投資風險都存在於資產負債表中 - 遠非如此。 例如,我們發現了一個您在此投資之前應該注意的關於伊頓的警告信號。
If, after all that, you're more interested in a fast growing company with a rock-solid balance sheet, then check out our list of net cash growth stocks without delay.
If, after all that, you're more interested in a fast growing company with a rock-solid balance sheet, then check out our list of net cash growth stocks without delay.
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這篇來自Simply Wall ST的文章是一般性的。我們根據歷史數據和分析師預測提供評論,採用無偏見的方法,我們的文章並不旨在提供財務建議。它不構成對任何股票的買入或賣出建議,也未考慮到您的目標或財務狀況。我們旨在爲您提供以基本數據驅動的長期分析。請注意,我們的分析可能未考慮最新的價格敏感公司公告或定性材料。Simply Wall ST在提到的任何股票中均沒有持倉。
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