NasdaqCM:AHCO
Is AdaptHealth (NASDAQ:AHCO) Using Too Much Debt?
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.' 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 AdaptHealth Corp. (NASDAQ:AHCO) makes use of debt. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?
When Is Debt A Problem?
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 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. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.
View our latest analysis for AdaptHealth
How Much Debt Does AdaptHealth Carry?
You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of June 2021 AdaptHealth had US$1.89b of debt, an increase on US$465.2m, over one year. However, because it has a cash reserve of US$178.2m, its net debt is less, at about US$1.71b.
NasdaqCM:AHCO Debt to Equity History November 3rd 2021
How Strong Is AdaptHealth's Balance Sheet?
The latest balance sheet data shows that AdaptHealth had liabilities of US$605.9m due within a year, and liabilities of US$2.19b falling due after that. On the other hand, it had cash of US$178.2m and US$302.1m worth of receivables due within a year. So it has liabilities totalling US$2.31b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.
This deficit is considerable relative to its market capitalization of US$3.54b, so it does suggest shareholders should keep an eye on AdaptHealth's use of debt. Should its lenders demand that it shore up the balance sheet, shareholders would likely face severe dilution.
In order to size up a company's debt relative to its earnings, we calculate its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) divided by its interest expense (its interest cover). The advantage of this approach is that we take into account both the absolute quantum of debt (with net debt to EBITDA) and the actual interest expenses associated with that debt (with its interest cover ratio).
AdaptHealth has a rather high debt to EBITDA ratio of 5.1 which suggests a meaningful debt load. But the good news is that it boasts fairly comforting interest cover of 2.5 times, suggesting it can responsibly service its obligations. However, it should be some comfort for shareholders to recall that AdaptHealth actually grew its EBIT by a hefty 224%, over the last 12 months. If it can keep walking that path it will be in a position to shed its debt with relative ease. 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 AdaptHealth 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.
Finally, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So we clearly need to look at whether that EBIT is leading to corresponding free cash flow. Happily for any shareholders, AdaptHealth actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT over the last three years. That sort of strong cash generation warms our hearts like a puppy in a bumblebee suit.
Both AdaptHealth's ability to to convert EBIT to free cash flow and its EBIT growth rate gave us comfort that it can handle its debt. In contrast, our confidence was undermined by its apparent struggle handle its debt, based on its EBITDA,. It's also worth noting that AdaptHealth is in the Healthcare industry, which is often considered to be quite defensive. When we consider all the elements mentioned above, it seems to us that AdaptHealth is managing its debt quite well. Having said that, the load is sufficiently heavy that we would recommend any shareholders keep a close eye on it. 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. Be aware that AdaptHealth is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is a bit concerning...
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.