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.' 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. We can see that Dynavax Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:DVAX) does use debt in its business. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

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. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. 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. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

How Much Debt Does Dynavax Technologies Carry?

As you can see below, Dynavax Technologies had US$222.7m of debt, at December 2023, which is about the same as the year before. You can click the chart for greater detail. However, its balance sheet shows it holds US$742.3m in cash, so it actually has US$519.6m net cash.

How Healthy Is Dynavax Technologies' Balance Sheet?

The latest balance sheet data shows that Dynavax Technologies had liabilities of US$62.2m due within a year, and liabilities of US$312.8m falling due after that. Offsetting this, it had US$742.3m in cash and US$45.9m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it can boast US$413.2m more liquid assets than total liabilities.

This surplus suggests that Dynavax Technologies is using debt in a way that is appears to be both safe and conservative. Because it has plenty of assets, it is unlikely to have trouble with its lenders. Succinctly put, Dynavax Technologies boasts net cash, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load! 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 Dynavax Technologies can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you're focused on the future you can check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

In the last year Dynavax Technologies had a loss before interest and tax, and actually shrunk its revenue by 68%, to US$232m. That makes us nervous, to say the least.

So How Risky Is Dynavax Technologies?

Although Dynavax Technologies had an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss over the last twelve months, it generated positive free cash flow of US$96m. So taking that on face value, and considering the net cash situation, we don't think that the stock is too risky in the near term. We'll feel more comfortable with the stock once EBIT is positive, given the lacklustre revenue growth. 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 instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Dynavax Technologies that you should be aware of.

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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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.