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. Ultimately this means that the company is earning less per dollar invested and on top of that, it's shrinking its base of capital employed. So after we looked into ComfortDelGro (SGX:C52), the trends above didn't look too great.

Understanding 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 ComfortDelGro, this is the formula:

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

0.074 = S$266m ÷ (S$4.7b - S$1.1b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Therefore, ComfortDelGro has an ROCE of 7.4%. On its own that's a low return on capital but it's in line with the industry's average returns of 6.6%.

In the above chart we have measured ComfortDelGro's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering ComfortDelGro for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For ComfortDelGro Tell Us?

In terms of ComfortDelGro's historical ROCE movements, the trend doesn't inspire confidence. Unfortunately the returns on capital have diminished from the 11% that they were earning five years ago. 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 ComfortDelGro to turn into a multi-bagger.

What We Can Learn From ComfortDelGro's ROCE

In the end, the trend of lower returns on the same amount of capital isn't typically an indication that we're looking at a growth stock. It should come as no surprise then that the stock has fallen 31% over the last five years, so it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. With underlying trends that aren't great in these areas, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

On a final note, we've found 1 warning sign for ComfortDelGro that we think you should be aware of.

While ComfortDelGro 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.