Yahoo Finance Ultralife (NASDAQ:ULBI) May Have Issues Allocating Its Capital
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. 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. Having said that, from a first glance at Ultralife (NASDAQ:ULBI) 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 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 Ultralife:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.021 = US$2.5m ÷ (US$137m - US$17m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).
So, Ultralife has an ROCE of 2.1%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Electrical industry average of 9.3%.
See our latest analysis for Ultralife
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Ultralife compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Ultralife here for free.
What Can We Tell From Ultralife's ROCE Trend?
On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Ultralife doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 4.4% over the last five years. 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.
In Conclusion...
To conclude, we've found that Ultralife is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. Unsurprisingly, the stock has only gained 14% over the last five years, which potentially indicates that investors are accounting for this going forward. So if you're looking for a multi-bagger, the underlying trends indicate you may have better chances elsewhere.
On a final note, we've found 4 warning signs for Ultralife that we think you should be aware of.
While Ultralife isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.
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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.
