David Iben put it well when he said, 'Volatility is not a risk we care about. What we care about is avoiding the 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 Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) does use debt in its business. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?
Why Does Debt Bring Risk?
Debt is a tool to help businesses grow, but if a business is incapable of paying off its lenders, then it exists at their mercy. Ultimately, if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt, shareholders could walk away with nothing. However, a more common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.
How Much Debt Does Ball Carry?
As you can see below, Ball had US$5.64b of debt at December 2024, down from US$8.56b a year prior. However, it also had US$889.0m in cash, and so its net debt is US$4.75b.
How Healthy Is Ball's Balance Sheet?
The latest balance sheet data shows that Ball had liabilities of US$4.85b due within a year, and liabilities of US$6.85b falling due after that. On the other hand, it had cash of US$889.0m and US$2.17b worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities total US$8.64b more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.
This deficit is considerable relative to its very significant market capitalization of US$13.7b, so it does suggest shareholders should keep an eye on Ball's use of debt. Should its lenders demand that it shore up the balance sheet, shareholders would likely face severe dilution.
See our latest analysis for Ball
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). This way, we consider both the absolute quantum of the debt, as well as the interest rates paid on it.
Ball's debt is 2.6 times its EBITDA, and its EBIT cover its interest expense 5.3 times over. This suggests that while the debt levels are significant, we'd stop short of calling them problematic. Importantly Ball's EBIT was essentially flat over the last twelve months. Ideally it can diminish its debt load by kick-starting earnings growth. 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 Ball 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.
Finally, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So it's worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. Over the last three years, Ball saw substantial negative free cash flow, in total. While that may be a result of expenditure for growth, it does make the debt far more risky.
Our View
We'd go so far as to say Ball's conversion of EBIT to free cash flow was disappointing. But at least its interest cover is not so bad. Overall, we think it's fair to say that Ball has enough debt that there are some real risks around the balance sheet. If everything goes well that may pay off but the downside of this debt is a greater risk of permanent losses. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. We've identified 2 warning signs with Ball (at least 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
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.
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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.