Yahoo Finance QinetiQ Group (LON:QQ.) Has More To Do To Multiply In Value Going Forward
What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. With that in mind, the ROCE of QinetiQ Group (LON:QQ.) looks decent, right now, so lets see what the trend of returns can tell us.
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. To calculate this metric for QinetiQ Group, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.15 = UK£185m ÷ (UK£1.7b - UK£496m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).
So, QinetiQ Group has an ROCE of 15%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 10.0% generated by the Aerospace & Defense industry.
Check out our latest analysis for QinetiQ Group
Above you can see how the current ROCE for QinetiQ Group 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 QinetiQ Group.
So How Is QinetiQ Group's ROCE Trending?
While the current returns on capital are decent, they haven't changed much. The company has employed 66% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 15%. Since 15% is a moderate ROCE though, it's good to see a business can continue to reinvest at these decent rates of return. Stable returns in this ballpark can be unexciting, but if they can be maintained over the long run, they often provide nice rewards to shareholders.
The Key Takeaway
In the end, QinetiQ Group has proven its ability to adequately reinvest capital at good rates of return. Therefore it's no surprise that shareholders have earned a respectable 89% return if they held over the last five years. So while the positive underlying trends may be accounted for by investors, we still think this stock is worth looking into further.
If you want to know some of the risks facing QinetiQ Group we've found 2 warning signs (1 is concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
While QinetiQ Group 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.
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