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. We can see that iRhythm Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRTC) does use debt in its business. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

When Is Debt A Problem?

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. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. However, a more usual (but still expensive) situation is where a company must dilute shareholders at a cheap share price simply to get debt under control. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

What Is iRhythm Technologies's Debt?

As you can see below, at the end of March 2024, iRhythm Technologies had US$644.1m of debt, up from US$34.9m a year ago. Click the image for more detail. However, because it has a cash reserve of US$569.1m, its net debt is less, at about US$75.0m.

How Healthy Is iRhythm Technologies' Balance Sheet?

According to the last reported balance sheet, iRhythm Technologies had liabilities of US$96.8m due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$722.6m due beyond 12 months. On the other hand, it had cash of US$569.1m and US$89.7m worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling US$160.7m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

Of course, iRhythm Technologies has a market capitalization of US$3.11b, so these liabilities are probably manageable. But there are sufficient liabilities that we would certainly recommend shareholders continue to monitor the balance sheet, 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 iRhythm Technologies'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.

Over 12 months, iRhythm Technologies reported revenue of US$513m, which is a gain of 19%, although it did not report any earnings before interest and tax. We usually like to see faster growth from unprofitable companies, but each to their own.

Caveat Emptor

Importantly, iRhythm Technologies had an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss over the last year. To be specific the EBIT loss came in at US$97m. When we look at that and recall the liabilities on its balance sheet, relative to cash, it seems unwise to us for the company to have any debt. So we think its balance sheet is a little strained, though not beyond repair. Another cause for caution is that is bled US$113m in negative free cash flow over the last twelve months. So to be blunt we think it is risky. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. These risks can be hard to spot. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for iRhythm Technologies you should know about.

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.

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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.