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. As with many other companies Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC) makes use of debt. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.
When Is Debt Dangerous?
Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. If things get really bad, the lenders can take control of the business. However, a more common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. Of course, debt can be an important tool in businesses, particularly capital heavy businesses. The first step when considering a company's debt levels is to consider its cash and debt together.
What Is Genuine Parts's Debt?
You can click the graphic below for the historical numbers, but it shows that as of June 2025 Genuine Parts had US$4.81b of debt, an increase on US$3.88b, over one year. On the flip side, it has US$458.0m in cash leading to net debt of about US$4.35b.
How Healthy Is Genuine Parts' Balance Sheet?
The latest balance sheet data shows that Genuine Parts had liabilities of US$9.21b due within a year, and liabilities of US$6.50b falling due after that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$458.0m as well as receivables valued at US$3.57b due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$11.7b.
This deficit is considerable relative to its very significant market capitalization of US$19.1b, so it does suggest shareholders should keep an eye on Genuine Parts' use of debt. This suggests shareholders would be heavily diluted if the company needed to shore up its balance sheet in a hurry.
See our latest analysis for Genuine Parts
In order to size up a company's debt relative to its earnings, we calculate its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) divided by its interest expense (its interest cover). The advantage of this approach is that we take into account both the absolute quantum of debt (with net debt to EBITDA) and the actual interest expenses associated with that debt (with its interest cover ratio).
We'd say that Genuine Parts's moderate net debt to EBITDA ratio ( being 2.3), indicates prudence when it comes to debt. And its commanding EBIT of 10.7 times its interest expense, implies the debt load is as light as a peacock feather. The bad news is that Genuine Parts saw its EBIT decline by 19% over the last year. If that sort of decline is not arrested, then the managing its debt will be harder than selling broccoli flavoured ice-cream for a premium. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Genuine Parts 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.
Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So it's worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. Looking at the most recent three years, Genuine Parts recorded free cash flow of 41% of its EBIT, which is weaker than we'd expect. That weak cash conversion makes it more difficult to handle indebtedness.
Our View
Mulling over Genuine Parts's attempt at (not) growing its EBIT, we're certainly not enthusiastic. But on the bright side, its interest cover is a good sign, and makes us more optimistic. Looking at the balance sheet and taking into account all these factors, we do believe that debt is making Genuine Parts stock a bit risky. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but we'd generally feel more comfortable with less leverage. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. Be aware that Genuine Parts is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is potentially serious...
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.