Yahoo Finance TELUS' (TSE:T) Returns On Capital Not Reflecting Well On The Business
If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. 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. Although, when we looked at TELUS (TSE:T), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.
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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for TELUS:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.072 = CA$2.9b ÷ (CA$49b - CA$8.4b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).
Therefore, TELUS has an ROCE of 7.2%. On its own, that's a low figure but it's around the 8.3% average generated by the Telecom industry.
Check out our latest analysis for TELUS
Above you can see how the current ROCE for TELUS 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 report on analyst forecasts for the company.
How Are Returns Trending?
When we looked at the ROCE trend at TELUS, we didn't gain much confidence. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 11%, but since then they've fallen to 7.2%. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.
Our Take On TELUS' ROCE
Bringing it all together, while we're somewhat encouraged by TELUS' reinvestment in its own business, we're aware that returns are shrinking. Since the stock has gained an impressive 61% over the last five years, investors must think there's better things to come. Ultimately, if the underlying trends persist, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger going forward.
One more thing: We've identified 4 warning signs with TELUS (at least 1 which is significant) , and understanding them would certainly be useful.
While TELUS 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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
