Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously said that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' It's only natural to consider a company's balance sheet when you examine how risky it is, since debt is often involved when a business collapses. We can see that Five9, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVN) does use debt in its business. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

When Is Debt A Problem?

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. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. 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. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

What Is Five9's Net Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at March 2024 Five9 had debt of US$1.16b, up from US$739.5m in one year. However, it does have US$1.08b in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about US$77.6m.

A Look At Five9's Liabilities

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Five9 had liabilities of US$183.5m due within 12 months and liabilities of US$1.20b due beyond that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$1.08b as well as receivables valued at US$103.8m due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling US$200.5m more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

Since publicly traded Five9 shares are worth a total of US$3.95b, it seems unlikely that this level of liabilities would be a major threat. However, we do think it is worth keeping an eye on its balance sheet strength, as it may change over time. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Five9 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.

In the last year Five9 wasn't profitable at an EBIT level, but managed to grow its revenue by 15%, to US$939m. That rate of growth is a bit slow for our taste, but it takes all types to make a world.

Caveat Emptor

Over the last twelve months Five9 produced an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss. Indeed, it lost US$82m at the EBIT level. Considering that alongside the liabilities mentioned above does not give us much confidence that company should be using so much debt. So we think its balance sheet is a little strained, though not beyond repair. For example, we would not want to see a repeat of last year's loss of US$62m. So we do think this stock is quite risky. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. Be aware that Five9 is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.