Yahoo Finance The Returns On Capital At HNI (NYSE:HNI) Don't Inspire Confidence
To avoid investing in a business that's in decline, there's a few financial metrics that can provide early indications of aging. Typically, we'll see the trend of both return on capital employed (ROCE) declining and this usually coincides with a decreasing amount of capital employed. This combination can tell you that not only is the company investing less, it's earning less on what it does invest. And from a first read, things don't look too good at HNI (NYSE:HNI), so let's see why.
Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?
For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for HNI, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.094 = US$93m ÷ (US$1.5b - US$506m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to January 2022).
Therefore, HNI has an ROCE of 9.4%. On its own, that's a low figure but it's around the 7.9% average generated by the Commercial Services industry.
Check out our latest analysis for HNI
In the above chart we have measured HNI's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for HNI.
What Does the ROCE Trend For HNI Tell Us?
In terms of HNI's historical ROCE movements, the trend doesn't inspire confidence. About five years ago, returns on capital were 21%, however they're now substantially lower than that as we saw above. And on the capital employed front, the business is utilizing roughly the same amount of capital as it was back then. This combination can be indicative of a mature business that still has areas to deploy capital, but the returns received aren't as high due potentially to new competition or smaller margins. If these trends continue, we wouldn't expect HNI to turn into a multi-bagger.
The Bottom Line On HNI's ROCE
All in all, the lower returns from the same amount of capital employed aren't exactly signs of a compounding machine. And, the stock has remained flat over the last five years, so investors don't seem too impressed either. Unless there is a shift to a more positive trajectory in these metrics, we would look elsewhere.
One more thing to note, we've identified 1 warning sign with HNI and understanding this should be part of your investment process.
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.
