Is Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) A Risky Investment?

Howard Marks put it nicely when he said that, rather than worrying about share price volatility, 'The possibility of permanent loss is the risk I worry about... and every practical investor I know worries about.' 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 Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) makes use of debt. But is this debt a concern to shareholders?

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

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. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. 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, the upside of debt is that it often represents cheap capital, especially when it replaces dilution in a company with the ability to reinvest at high rates of return. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

View our latest analysis for Salesforce

How Much Debt Does Salesforce Carry?

You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that Salesforce had US$9.42b of debt in July 2023, down from US$10.6b, one year before. But it also has US$12.4b in cash to offset that, meaning it has US$2.97b net cash.

How Healthy Is Salesforce's Balance Sheet?

The latest balance sheet data shows that Salesforce had liabilities of US$20.8b due within a year, and liabilities of US$13.6b falling due after that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$12.4b as well as receivables valued at US$5.40b due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$16.6b.

Of course, Salesforce has a titanic market capitalization of US$203.0b, so these liabilities are probably manageable. But there are sufficient liabilities that we would certainly recommend shareholders continue to monitor the balance sheet, going forward. While it does have liabilities worth noting, Salesforce also has more cash than debt, so we're pretty confident it can manage its debt safely.

Better yet, Salesforce grew its EBIT by 3,228% last year, which is an impressive improvement. If maintained that growth will make the debt even more manageable in the years ahead. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Salesforce 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.

Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. Salesforce may have net cash on the balance sheet, but it is still interesting to look at how well the business converts its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to free cash flow, because that will influence both its need for, and its capacity to manage debt. Happily for any shareholders, Salesforce actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT over the last three years. There's nothing better than incoming cash when it comes to staying in your lenders' good graces.

Summing Up

While it is always sensible to look at a company's total liabilities, it is very reassuring that Salesforce has US$2.97b in net cash. The cherry on top was that in converted 339% of that EBIT to free cash flow, bringing in US$7.6b. So we don't think Salesforce's use of debt is risky. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. For example - Salesforce has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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.

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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.