Warren Buffett famously said, 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' So it seems the smart money knows that debt - which is usually involved in bankruptcies - is a very important factor, when you assess how risky a company is. Importantly, Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) does carry debt. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

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 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, 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.

See our latest analysis for Lumentum Holdings

What Is Lumentum Holdings's Debt?

The image below, which you can click on for greater detail, shows that at July 2023 Lumentum Holdings had debt of US$2.81b, up from US$1.88b in one year. However, it does have US$2.01b in cash offsetting this, leading to net debt of about US$798.0m.

How Healthy Is Lumentum Holdings' Balance Sheet?

The latest balance sheet data shows that Lumentum Holdings had liabilities of US$633.8m due within a year, and liabilities of US$2.64b falling due after that. On the other hand, it had cash of US$2.01b and US$252.8m worth of receivables due within a year. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$1.01b.

While this might seem like a lot, it is not so bad since Lumentum Holdings has a market capitalization of US$2.89b, and so it could probably strengthen its balance sheet by raising capital if it needed to. But it's clear that we should definitely closely examine whether it can manage its debt without dilution. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Lumentum Holdings 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.

In the last year Lumentum Holdings wasn't profitable at an EBIT level, but managed to grow its revenue by 3.2%, to US$1.8b. We usually like to see faster growth from unprofitable companies, but each to their own.

Caveat Emptor

Over the last twelve months Lumentum Holdings produced an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss. To be specific the EBIT loss came in at US$6.6m. 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. We would feel better if it turned its trailing twelve month loss of US$132m into a profit. So to be blunt we do think it is 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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Lumentum Holdings you should be aware of.

When all is said and done, sometimes its easier to focus on companies that don't even need debt. Readers can access a list of growth stocks with zero net debt 100% free, right now.

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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.