Yahoo Finance Capital Allocation Trends At FMC (NYSE:FMC) Aren't Ideal
Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? 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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. However, after investigating FMC (NYSE:FMC), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.
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 FMC, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.057 = US$477m ÷ (US$12b - US$3.6b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).
Therefore, FMC has an ROCE of 5.7%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Chemicals industry average of 8.8%.
Check out our latest analysis for FMC
Above you can see how the current ROCE for FMC compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for FMC .
What Can We Tell From FMC's ROCE Trend?
Unfortunately, the trend isn't great with ROCE falling from 15% five years ago, while capital employed has grown 27%. Usually this isn't ideal, but given FMC conducted a capital raising before their most recent earnings announcement, that would've likely contributed, at least partially, to the increased capital employed figure. FMC probably hasn't received a full year of earnings yet from the new funds it raised, so these figures should be taken with a grain of salt.
The Bottom Line
We're a bit apprehensive about FMC because despite more capital being deployed in the business, returns on that capital and sales have both fallen. And, the stock has remained flat over the last five years, so investors don't seem too impressed either. With underlying trends that aren't great in these areas, we'd consider looking elsewhere.
If you'd like to know more about FMC, we've spotted 4 warning signs, and 2 of them are a bit unpleasant.
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.
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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.
