Yahoo Finance There Are Reasons To Feel Uneasy About Ampol's (ASX:ALD) Returns On Capital
To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think Ampol (ASX:ALD) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.
Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?
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. To calculate this metric for Ampol, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.15 = AU$880m ÷ (AU$8.9b - AU$2.9b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).
So, Ampol has an ROCE of 15%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Oil and Gas industry average of 12% it's much better.
See our latest analysis for Ampol
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Ampol 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 Ampol.
What Does the ROCE Trend For Ampol Tell Us?
When we looked at the ROCE trend at Ampol, we didn't gain much confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 24% over the last five years. Although, given both revenue and the amount of assets employed in the business have increased, it could suggest the company is investing in growth, and the extra capital has led to a short-term reduction in ROCE. And if the increased capital generates additional returns, the business, and thus shareholders, will benefit in the long run.
Our Take On Ampol's ROCE
In summary, despite lower returns in the short term, we're encouraged to see that Ampol is reinvesting for growth and has higher sales as a result. These trends are starting to be recognized by investors since the stock has delivered a 25% gain to shareholders who've held over the last five years. Therefore we'd recommend looking further into this stock to confirm if it has the makings of a good investment.
Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Ampol (of which 1 is concerning!) that 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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