The external fund manager backed by Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger, Li Lu, makes no bones about it when he says '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 can see that indie Semiconductor, Inc. (NASDAQ:INDI) does use debt in its business. But the more important question is: how much risk is that debt creating?

When Is Debt A Problem?

Debt assists a business until the business has trouble paying it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. 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, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

What Is indie Semiconductor's Net Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that indie Semiconductor had debt of US$160.8m at the end of December 2023, a reduction from US$171.4m over a year. However, it does have US$151.7m in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about US$9.16m.

How Healthy Is indie Semiconductor's Balance Sheet?

According to the last reported balance sheet, indie Semiconductor had liabilities of US$138.9m due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$203.0m due beyond 12 months. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$151.7m as well as receivables valued at US$72.1m due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$118.1m.

Given indie Semiconductor has a market capitalization of US$1.24b, it's hard to believe these liabilities pose much threat. But there are sufficient liabilities that we would certainly recommend shareholders continue to monitor the balance sheet, going forward. But either way, indie Semiconductor has virtually no net debt, so it's fair to say it does not have a heavy debt load! When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if indie Semiconductor 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.

Over 12 months, indie Semiconductor reported revenue of US$223m, which is a gain of 101%, although it did not report any earnings before interest and tax. So there's no doubt that shareholders are cheering for growth

Caveat Emptor

Despite the top line growth, indie Semiconductor still had an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss over the last year. Indeed, it lost US$122m at the EBIT level. 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. Quite frankly we think the balance sheet is far from match-fit, although it could be improved with time. Another cause for caution is that is bled US$117m in negative free cash flow over the last twelve months. So in short it's a really risky stock. 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 1 warning sign for indie Semiconductor you should be aware of.

If, after all that, you're more interested in a fast growing company with a rock-solid balance sheet, then check out our list of net cash growth stocks without delay.

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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.