NYSE News Today – Edison International (NYSE:EIX) Has A Somewhat Strained Balance Sheet

Warren Buffett famously said, ‘Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.’ 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 Edison International (NYSE:EIX) makes use of debt. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

When Is Debt Dangerous?

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. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. 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. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. When we think about a company’s use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Edison International

What Is Edison International’s Net Debt?

As you can see below, at the end of December 2020, Edison International had US$23.1b of debt, up from US$18.9b a year ago. Click the image for more detail. And it doesn’t have much cash, so its net debt is about the same.

A Look At Edison International’s Liabilities

According to the last reported balance sheet, Edison International had liabilities of US$10.3b due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$43.1b due beyond 12 months. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$87.0m as well as receivables valued at US$2.43b due within 12 months. So its liabilities total US$50.9b more than the combination of its cash and short-term receivables.

This deficit casts a shadow over the US$21.9b company, like a colossus towering over mere mortals. So we definitely think shareholders need to watch this one closely. At the end of the day, Edison International would probably need a major re-capitalization if its creditors were to demand repayment.

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). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.

Edison International has a debt to EBITDA ratio of 4.9 and its EBIT covered its interest expense 2.8 times. This suggests that while the debt levels are significant, we’d stop short of calling them problematic. On a slightly more positive note, Edison International grew its EBIT at 18% over the last year, further increasing its ability to manage debt. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Edison International’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.

Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So we always check how much of that EBIT is translated into free cash flow. Over the last three years, Edison International 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

To be frank both Edison International’s conversion of EBIT to free cash flow and its track record of staying on top of its total liabilities make us rather uncomfortable with its debt levels. But on the bright side, its EBIT growth rate is a good sign, and makes us more optimistic. It’s also worth noting that Edison International is in the Electric Utilities industry, which is often considered to be quite defensive. We’re quite clear that we consider Edison International to be really rather risky, as a result of its balance sheet health. So we’re almost as wary of this stock as a hungry kitten is about falling into its owner’s fish pond: once bitten, twice shy, as they say. 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. These risks can be hard to spot. Every company has them, and we’ve spotted 5 warning signs for Edison International (of which 1 shouldn’t be ignored!) you should know about.

Of course, if you’re the type of investor who prefers buying stocks without the burden of debt, then don’t hesitate to discover our exclusive list of net cash growth stocks, today.

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