Yahoo Finance Boston Beer Company's (NYSE:SAM) Returns On Capital Not Reflecting Well On The Business
What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Although, when we looked at Boston Beer Company (NYSE:SAM), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Boston Beer Company is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.10 = US$131m ÷ (US$1.5b - US$265m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).
Thus, Boston Beer Company has an ROCE of 10%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty standard return but compared to the Beverage industry average it falls behind.
View our latest analysis for Boston Beer Company
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Boston Beer Company compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Boston Beer Company here for free.
What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us
In terms of Boston Beer Company's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 10% from 21% five years ago. However it looks like Boston Beer Company 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's worth keeping an eye on the company's earnings from here on to see if these investments do end up contributing to the bottom line.
The Bottom Line On Boston Beer Company's ROCE
To conclude, we've found that Boston Beer Company is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. Unsurprisingly, the stock has only gained 25% over the last five years, which potentially indicates that investors are accounting for this going forward. As a result, if you're hunting for a multi-bagger, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.
While Boston Beer Company doesn't shine too bright in this respect, it's still worth seeing if the company is trading at attractive prices. You can find that out with our FREE intrinsic value estimation on our platform.
While Boston Beer Company isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.
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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.
