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Health Check: How Prudently Does Daily Journal (NASDAQ:DJCO) Use Debt?

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. Importantly, Daily Journal Corporation (NASDAQ:DJCO) does carry debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

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 usual (but still expensive) situation is where a company must dilute shareholders at a cheap share price simply to get debt under control. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. When we examine debt levels, we first consider both cash and debt levels, together.

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View our latest analysis for Daily Journal

What Is Daily Journal's Debt?

As you can see below, Daily Journal had US$31.3m of debt, at March 2020, which is about the same as the year before. You can click the chart for greater detail. However, its balance sheet shows it holds US$142.7m in cash, so it actually has US$111.5m net cash.

NasdaqCM:DJCO Historical Debt July 10th 2020
NasdaqCM:DJCO Historical Debt July 10th 2020

How Healthy Is Daily Journal's Balance Sheet?

The latest balance sheet data shows that Daily Journal had liabilities of US$25.6m due within a year, and liabilities of US$53.6m falling due after that. Offsetting this, it had US$142.7m in cash and US$6.82m in receivables that were due within 12 months. So it can boast US$70.4m more liquid assets than total liabilities.

It's good to see that Daily Journal has plenty of liquidity on its balance sheet, suggesting conservative management of liabilities. Given it has easily adequate short term liquidity, we don't think it will have any issues with its lenders. Simply put, the fact that Daily Journal has more cash than debt is arguably a good indication that it can manage its debt safely. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But it is Daily Journal's earnings that will influence how the balance sheet holds up in the future. So if you're keen to discover more about its earnings, it might be worth checking out this graph of its long term earnings trend.

Over 12 months, Daily Journal reported revenue of US$52m, which is a gain of 22%, although it did not report any earnings before interest and tax. With any luck the company will be able to grow its way to profitability.

So How Risky Is Daily Journal?

Although Daily Journal had negative earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) over the last twelve months, it generated positive free cash flow of US$163k. So taking that on face value, and considering the net cash situation, we don't think that the stock is too risky in the near term. Keeping in mind its 22% revenue growth over the last year, we think there's a decent chance the company is on track. We'd see further strong growth as an optimistic indication. 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. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Daily Journal (1 is concerning) you should be aware of.

Of course, if you're the type of investor who prefers buying stocks without the burden of debt, then don't hesitate to discover our exclusive list of net cash growth stocks, today.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.