Yahoo Finance The Returns On Capital At Leifheit (ETR:LEI) Don't Inspire Confidence
If you're looking at a mature business that's past the growth phase, what are some of the underlying trends that pop up? 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 the company is producing less profit from its investments and its total assets are decreasing. On that note, looking into Leifheit (ETR:LEI), we weren't too upbeat about how things were going.
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. To calculate this metric for Leifheit, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.0076 = €1.2m ÷ (€213m - €49m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).
Thus, Leifheit has an ROCE of 0.8%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Consumer Durables industry average of 8.3%.
Check out our latest analysis for Leifheit
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Leifheit 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 Leifheit.
What Can We Tell From Leifheit's ROCE Trend?
There is reason to be cautious about Leifheit, given the returns are trending downwards. Unfortunately the returns on capital have diminished from the 11% that they were earning five years ago. Meanwhile, capital employed in the business has stayed roughly the flat over the period. Since returns are falling and the business has the same amount of assets employed, this can suggest it's a mature business that hasn't had much growth in the last five years. So because these trends aren't typically conducive to creating a multi-bagger, we wouldn't hold our breath on Leifheit becoming one if things continue as they have.
The Bottom Line
In the end, the trend of lower returns on the same amount of capital isn't typically an indication that we're looking at a growth stock. It should come as no surprise then that the stock has fallen 43% over the last five years, so it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. That being the case, unless the underlying trends revert to a more positive trajectory, we'd consider looking elsewhere.
One more thing: We've identified 2 warning signs with Leifheit (at least 1 which can't be ignored) , and understanding them would certainly be useful.
While Leifheit 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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