CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) Has More To Do To Multiply In Value Going Forward
Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Having said that, from a first glance at CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. The formula for this calculation on CoreCivic is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.08 = US$223m ÷ (US$3.3b - US$475m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).
Thus, CoreCivic has an ROCE of 8.0%. On its own, that's a low figure but it's around the 9.1% average generated by the Commercial Services industry.
See our latest analysis for CoreCivic
In the above chart we have measured CoreCivic's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
What Does the ROCE Trend For CoreCivic Tell Us?
Things have been pretty stable at CoreCivic, with its capital employed and returns on that capital staying somewhat the same for the last five years. Businesses with these traits tend to be mature and steady operations because they're past the growth phase. So unless we see a substantial change at CoreCivic in terms of ROCE and additional investments being made, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger.
The Bottom Line
We can conclude that in regards to CoreCivic's returns on capital employed and the trends, there isn't much change to report on. Since the stock has declined 51% over the last five years, investors may not be too optimistic on this trend improving either. Therefore based on the analysis done in this article, we don't think CoreCivic has the makings of a multi-bagger.
CoreCivic does have some risks, we noticed 2 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit unpleasant) we think you should know about.
If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive 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.
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