Yahoo Finance Will The ROCE Trend At Imperial Brands (LON:IMB) Continue?
There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. So on that note, Imperial Brands (LON:IMB) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.
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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Imperial Brands:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.15 = UK£2.9b ÷ (UK£32b - UK£12b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).
Therefore, Imperial Brands has an ROCE of 15%. By itself that's a normal return on capital and it's in line with the industry's average returns of 15%.
View our latest analysis for Imperial Brands
In the above chart we have measured Imperial Brands' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Imperial Brands here for free.
How Are Returns Trending?
Imperial Brands is showing promise given that its ROCE is trending up and to the right. Looking at the data, we can see that even though capital employed in the business has remained relatively flat, the ROCE generated has risen by 31% over the last five years. Basically the business is generating higher returns from the same amount of capital and that is proof that there are improvements in the company's efficiencies. It's worth looking deeper into this though because while it's great that the business is more efficient, it might also mean that going forward the areas to invest internally for the organic growth are lacking.
The Bottom Line
As discussed above, Imperial Brands appears to be getting more proficient at generating returns since capital employed has remained flat but earnings (before interest and tax) are up. Given the stock has declined 43% in the last five years, this could be a good investment if the valuation and other metrics are also appealing. With that in mind, we believe the promising trends warrant this stock for further investigation.
Imperial Brands does have some risks though, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Imperial Brands that you might be interested in.
While Imperial Brands 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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