Will LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Multiply In Value Going Forward?

Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base 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 LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

What is 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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for LyondellBasell Industries:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.079 = US$2.1b ÷ (US$32b - US$4.8b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

So, LyondellBasell Industries has an ROCE of 7.9%. Even though it's in line with the industry average of 8.1%, it's still a low return by itself.

See our latest analysis for LyondellBasell Industries

roce

In the above chart we have measured LyondellBasell Industries' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

So How Is LyondellBasell Industries' ROCE Trending?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at LyondellBasell Industries doesn't inspire confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 7.9% from 33% five years ago. Given the business is employing more capital while revenue has slipped, this is a bit concerning. If this were to continue, you might be looking at a company that is trying to reinvest for growth but is actually losing market share since sales haven't increased.

In Conclusion...

We're a bit apprehensive about LyondellBasell Industries because despite more capital being deployed in the business, returns on that capital and sales have both fallen. Despite the concerning underlying trends, the stock has actually gained 29% over the last five years, so it might be that the investors are expecting the trends to reverse. Either way, we aren't huge fans of the current trends and so with that we think you might find better investments elsewhere.

On a final note, we've found 6 warning signs for LyondellBasell Industries that we think you should be aware of.

While LyondellBasell Industries 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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