Stepan (NYSE:SCL) May Have Issues Allocating Its Capital
Stepan (NYSE:SCL) May Have Issues Allocating Its Capital
To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. In light of that, when we looked at Stepan (NYSE:SCL) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.
要找到一只多倍股票，我们在企业中应该寻找哪些潜在趋势呢？首先，我们希望看到资本运作回报率（ROCE）有所增加，并且资本运作基数不断扩大。这表明它是一个复利机器，能够持续将收益再投入企业中并获得更高的回报。鉴于此，当我们研究纽交所（NYSE）史提宾（Stepan）和其ROCE趋势时，我们并不是特别激动。
What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?
我们对 Enphase Energy 的资本雇用回报率的看法：正如我们上面看到的，Enphase Energy 的资本回报率没有提高，但它正在重新投资于业务。投资者必须认为未来会有更好的前景，因为股票表现良好，使持股五年以上的股东获得了 690% 的收益。最终，如果基本趋势持续存在，我们不会对它成为一只多头股持有期很久很有信心。
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 Stepan is:
对于那些不了解的人来说，ROCE是一个衡量公司年度税前利润（其回报）与企业中投入资本的相对指标。在史提宾（Stepan）的计算公式上，这个指标为：
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
资产雇用回报率（ROCE）是指企业利润，即企业税前利润除以企业投入的总资本（负债加股权）。如果ROCE高于企业财务成本的承受能力，那么企业就会创造出更多的价值。
0.043 = US$73m ÷ (US$2.3b - US$655m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).
0.043 = 7300万美元 ÷ （23亿美元 - 6.55亿美元）（基于截至2024年6月的过去十二个月）。
Therefore, Stepan has an ROCE of 4.3%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Chemicals industry average of 8.9%.
因此，史提宾（Stepan）的ROCE为4.3%。从绝对数值上看，这是一个较低的回报率，并且也低于化学品行业的平均水平8.9%。
In the above chart we have measured Stepan'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 analyst report for Stepan .
在上面的图表中，我们对比了史提宾的先前ROCE与其先前的业绩，但未来可能更重要。如果您想了解分析师对未来的预测，请查看我们免费的史提宾分析师报告。
How Are Returns Trending?
综合上述，Cimpress非常有效地提高了其资本利用率所产生的回报。考虑到股票过去五年保持稳定，如果其他指标也不错，则可能存在机会。因此，进一步研究这家公司并确定这些趋势是否会持续是合理的。
On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Stepan doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 11% over the last five years. Given the business is employing more capital while revenue has slipped, this is a bit concerning. If this were to continue, you might be looking at a company that is trying to reinvest for growth but is actually losing market share since sales haven't increased.
从表面上看，史提宾的ROCE趋势并不令人信心满满。具体来说，过去五年中ROCE下降了11%。鉴于企业在资本投入增加的同时，营业收入却下滑，这有点令人担忧。如果这种情况继续下去，您可能会看到一家试图通过再投资实现增长，但实际上却失去市场份额的公司，因为销售额没有增加。
What We Can Learn From Stepan's ROCE
从史提宾的ROCE中我们能够得出什么教训
We're a bit apprehensive about Stepan because despite more capital being deployed in the business, returns on that capital and sales have both fallen. It should come as no surprise then that the stock has fallen 13% over the last five years, so it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. Unless there is a shift to a more positive trajectory in these metrics, we would look elsewhere.
尽管史提宾在业务中投入了更多资本，但资本回报率和销售额都有所下降，这使我们有些担忧。因此，毫不意外的是，在过去的五年中，该股票下跌了13%，这意味着投资者意识到了这些变化。除非这些指标有积极变化的转向，否则我们会在其他地方寻找投资机会。
Stepan does have some risks though, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Stepan that you might be interested in.
然而，史提宾确实存在一些风险，我们发现了3个关于史提宾的警告信号，您可能会感兴趣。
While Stepan 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.
尽管史提宾目前的回报率不是最高的，但我们编制了一份当前回报率超过25%的公司列表。请查看这份免费列表。
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