Yahoo Finance What Kohl's' (NYSE:KSS) Returns On Capital Can Tell Us
What financial metrics can indicate to us that a company is maturing or even in decline? Businesses in decline often have two underlying trends, firstly, a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) and a declining base of capital employed. This indicates to us that the business is not only shrinking the size of its net assets, but its returns are falling as well. On that note, looking into Kohl's (NYSE:KSS), we weren't too upbeat about how things were going.
Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?
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 Kohl's is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.019 = US$244m ÷ (US$15b - US$2.6b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to August 2020).
So, Kohl's has an ROCE of 1.9%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Multiline Retail industry average of 15%.
See our latest analysis for Kohl's
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Kohl's compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Kohl's.
What Can We Tell From Kohl's' ROCE Trend?
In terms of Kohl's' historical ROCE movements, the trend doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, the ROCE was 15% five years ago, but since then it has dropped noticeably. And on the capital employed front, the business is utilizing roughly the same amount of capital as it was back then. Companies that exhibit these attributes tend to not be shrinking, but they can be mature and facing pressure on their margins from competition. So because these trends aren't typically conducive to creating a multi-bagger, we wouldn't hold our breath on Kohl's becoming one if things continue as they have.
What We Can Learn From Kohl's' ROCE
All in all, the lower returns from the same amount of capital employed aren't exactly signs of a compounding machine. Investors haven't taken kindly to these developments, since the stock has declined 40% from where it was five years ago. With underlying trends that aren't great in these areas, we'd consider looking elsewhere.
If you'd like to know about the risks facing Kohl's, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.
While Kohl's 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. 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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