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Health Check: How Prudently Does AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Use Debt?

Health Check: How Prudently Does AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Use Debt?

健康檢查:AST SpaceMobile(納斯達克股票代碼:ASTS)使用債務的謹慎程度如何?
Simply Wall St ·  05/22 03:23

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 note that AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) does have debt on its balance sheet. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

傳奇基金經理李露(由查理·芒格支持)曾經說過:“最大的投資風險不是價格的波動,而是你是否會遭受永久的資本損失。”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。我們注意到,AST SpaceMobile, Inc.(納斯達克股票代碼:ASTS)的資產負債表上確實有債務。但更重要的問題是:這筆債務會帶來多大的風險?

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

爲什麼債務會帶來風險?

Debt and other liabilities become risky for a business when it cannot easily fulfill those obligations, either with free cash flow or by raising capital at an attractive price. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. 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. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

當企業無法通過自由現金流或以有吸引力的價格籌集資金來輕鬆履行債務和其他負債時,債務和其他負債就會面臨風險。歸根結底,如果公司無法履行償還債務的法律義務,股東可能一無所有地離開。但是,更常見(但仍然代價高昂)的情況是,公司必須以低廉的價格發行股票,永久稀釋股東,以支撐其資產負債表。話雖如此,最常見的情況是公司合理地管理其債務,並從自己的利益出發。當我們檢查債務水平時,我們首先要同時考慮現金和債務水平。

What Is AST SpaceMobile's Debt?

AST SpaceMobile 的債務是什麼?

As you can see below, at the end of March 2024, AST SpaceMobile had US$161.1m of debt, up from US$4.70m a year ago. Click the image for more detail. However, its balance sheet shows it holds US$210.0m in cash, so it actually has US$48.9m net cash.

如下所示,截至2024年3月底,AST SpaceMobile的債務爲1.611億美元,高於去年同期的470萬美元。點擊圖片查看更多細節。但是,其資產負債表顯示其持有2.10億美元的現金,因此實際上擁有4,890萬美元的淨現金。

debt-equity-history-analysis
NasdaqGS:ASTS Debt to Equity History May 21st 2024
NASDAQGS: ASTS 債券與股本比率 2024 年 5 月 21 日

How Healthy Is AST SpaceMobile's Balance Sheet?

AST SpaceMobile 的資產負債表有多健康?

The latest balance sheet data shows that AST SpaceMobile had liabilities of US$31.9m due within a year, and liabilities of US$184.0m falling due after that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$210.0m as well as receivables valued at US$1.15m due within 12 months. So its liabilities total US$4.76m more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

最新的資產負債表數據顯示,AST SpaceMobile的負債爲3190萬美元,之後到期的負債爲1.84億美元。除這些債務外,它有2.10億美元的現金以及價值115萬美元的應收賬款在12個月內到期。因此,其負債總額比其現金和短期應收賬款的總和高出476萬美元。

This state of affairs indicates that AST SpaceMobile's balance sheet looks quite solid, as its total liabilities are just about equal to its liquid assets. So it's very unlikely that the US$1.17b company is short on cash, but still worth keeping an eye on the balance sheet. Despite its noteworthy liabilities, AST SpaceMobile boasts net cash, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load! There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if AST SpaceMobile 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.

這種狀況表明,AST SpaceMobile的資產負債表看起來相當穩健,因爲其總負債幾乎等於其流動資產。因此,這家11.7億美元的公司現金短缺的可能性很小,但仍然值得關注資產負債表。儘管負債值得關注,但AST SpaceMobile擁有淨現金,因此可以公平地說,它沒有沉重的債務負擔!毫無疑問,我們從資產負債表中學到的關於債務的知識最多。但最終,該業務未來的盈利能力將決定AST SpaceMobile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。

In the last year AST SpaceMobile had a loss before interest and tax, and actually shrunk its revenue by 96%, to US$500k. That makes us nervous, to say the least.

去年,AST SpaceMobile在利息和稅前出現了虧損,實際上其收入減少了96%,至50萬美元。至少可以說,這讓我們感到緊張。

So How Risky Is AST SpaceMobile?

那麼 AST SpaceMobile 的風險有多大?

By their very nature companies that are losing money are more risky than those with a long history of profitability. And we do note that AST SpaceMobile had an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss, over the last year. And over the same period it saw negative free cash outflow of US$302m and booked a US$91m accounting loss. Given it only has net cash of US$48.9m, the company may need to raise more capital if it doesn't reach break-even soon. Summing up, we're a little skeptical of this one, as it seems fairly risky in the absence of free cashflow. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for AST SpaceMobile you should be aware of, and 3 of them are concerning.

就其本質而言,虧損的公司比盈利歷史悠久的公司風險更大。而且我們確實注意到,在過去的一年中,AST SpaceMobile出現了息稅前收益(EBIT)虧損。同期,它的自由現金流出爲負3.02億美元,會計虧損爲9100萬美元。鑑於其淨現金僅爲4,890萬美元,如果不盡快實現收支平衡,該公司可能需要籌集更多資金。總而言之,我們對此有點懷疑,因爲在沒有自由現金流的情況下,這似乎相當危險。毫無疑問,我們從資產負債表中學到的關於債務的知識最多。但是,並非所有的投資風險都存在於資產負債表中,遠非如此。一個很好的例子:我們發現了你應該注意的4個AST SpaceMobile警告信號,其中3個令人擔憂。

If you're interested in investing in businesses that can grow profits without the burden of debt, then check out this free list of growing businesses that have net cash on the balance sheet.

如果你有興趣投資能夠在沒有債務負擔的情況下增加利潤的企業,請查看這份資產負債表上有淨現金的成長型企業的免費清單。

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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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