When it comes to investing, there are some useful financial metrics that can warn us when a business is potentially in trouble. 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. Having said that, after a brief look, Emerald Holding (NYSE:EEX) we aren't filled with optimism, but let's investigate further.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. To calculate this metric for Emerald Holding, this is the formula:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.0071 = US$6.0m ÷ (US$1.1b - US$226m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Therefore, Emerald Holding has an ROCE of 0.7%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Media industry average of 8.1%.

See our latest analysis for Emerald Holding

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Emerald Holding 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 Emerald Holding here for free.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

We are a bit anxious about the trends of ROCE at Emerald Holding. The company used to generate 7.5% on its capital five years ago but it has since fallen noticeably. What's equally concerning is that the amount of capital deployed in the business has shrunk by 41% over that same period. The fact that both are shrinking is an indication that the business is going through some tough times. Typically businesses that exhibit these characteristics aren't the ones that tend to multiply over the long term, because statistically speaking, they've already gone through the growth phase of their life cycle.

The Bottom Line

In short, lower returns and decreasing amounts capital employed in the business doesn't fill us with confidence. It should come as no surprise then that the stock has fallen 68% 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.

If you want to know some of the risks facing Emerald Holding we've found 3 warning signs (2 shouldn't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

While Emerald Holding 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.

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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.