The Returns On Capital At ARC Document Solutions (NYSE:ARC) Don't Inspire Confidence

Ignoring the stock price of a company, what are the underlying trends that tell us a business is past the growth phase? When we see a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) in conjunction with a declining base of capital employed, that's often how a mature business shows signs of aging. This indicates the company is producing less profit from its investments and its total assets are decreasing. And from a first read, things don't look too good at ARC Document Solutions (NYSE:ARC), so let's see why.

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. To calculate this metric for ARC Document Solutions, this is the formula:

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

0.051 = US$13m ÷ (US$330m - US$75m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).

Therefore, ARC Document Solutions has an ROCE of 5.1%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Commercial Services industry average of 7.5%.

See our latest analysis for ARC Document Solutions

roce

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you'd like to look at how ARC Document Solutions has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

So How Is ARC Document Solutions' ROCE Trending?

In terms of ARC Document Solutions' historical ROCE trend, it isn't fantastic. The company used to generate 9.5% on its capital five years ago but it has since fallen noticeably. On top of that, the business is utilizing 24% less capital within its operations. When you see both ROCE and capital employed diminishing, it can often be a sign of a mature and shrinking business that might be in structural decline. Typically businesses that exhibit these characteristics aren't the ones that tend to multiply over the long term, because statistically speaking, they've already gone through the growth phase of their life cycle.

The Bottom Line

In short, lower returns and decreasing amounts capital employed in the business doesn't fill us with confidence. Investors haven't taken kindly to these developments, since the stock has declined 18% from where it was five years ago. That being the case, unless the underlying trends revert to a more positive trajectory, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

One more thing, we've spotted 2 warning signs facing ARC Document Solutions that you might find interesting.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

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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