Yahoo Finance Air Lease (NYSE:AL) Might Be Having Difficulty Using Its Capital Effectively
There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. However, after investigating Air Lease (NYSE:AL), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.
Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?
Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. The formula for this calculation on Air Lease is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.04 = US$1.0b ÷ (US$26b - US$479m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).
Therefore, Air Lease has an ROCE of 4.0%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Trade Distributors industry average of 11%.
Check out our latest analysis for Air Lease
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Air Lease compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
How Are Returns Trending?
On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Air Lease doesn't inspire confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 4.0% from 6.2% five years ago. However it looks like Air Lease might be reinvesting for long term growth because while capital employed has increased, the company's sales haven't changed much in the last 12 months. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.
The Key Takeaway
In summary, Air Lease is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. Although the market must be expecting these trends to improve because the stock has gained 54% over the last five years. Ultimately, if the underlying trends persist, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger going forward.
Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Air Lease (of which 1 is concerning!) that you should know about.
While Air Lease may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.
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.
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