When we're researching a company, it's sometimes hard to find the warning signs, but there are some financial metrics that can help spot trouble early. A business that's potentially in decline often shows two trends, a return on capital employed (ROCE) that's declining, and a base of capital employed that's also declining. Trends like this ultimately mean the business is reducing its investments and also earning less on what it has invested. And from a first read, things don't look too good at Entravision Communications (NYSE:EVC), so let's see why.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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 Entravision Communications is:

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

0.012 = US$7.1m ÷ (US$866m - US$272m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Therefore, Entravision Communications has an ROCE of 1.2%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Media industry average of 8.2%.

In the above chart we have measured Entravision Communications' 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 Entravision Communications for free.

What Can We Tell From Entravision Communications' ROCE Trend?

In terms of Entravision Communications' historical ROCE movements, the trend doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, the ROCE was 5.3% five years ago, but since then it has dropped noticeably. And on the capital employed front, the business is utilizing roughly the same amount of capital as it was back then. Since returns are falling and the business has the same amount of assets employed, this can suggest it's a mature business that hasn't had much growth in the last five years. If these trends continue, we wouldn't expect Entravision Communications to turn into a multi-bagger.

While on the subject, we noticed that the ratio of current liabilities to total assets has risen to 31%, which has impacted the ROCE. If current liabilities hadn't increased as much as they did, the ROCE could actually be even lower. Keep an eye on this ratio, because the business could encounter some new risks if this metric gets too high.

The Key Takeaway

In summary, it's unfortunate that Entravision Communications is generating lower returns from the same amount of capital. Long term shareholders who've owned the stock over the last five years have experienced a 43% depreciation in their investment, so it appears the market might not like these trends either. Unless there is a shift to a more positive trajectory in these metrics, we would look elsewhere.

Entravision Communications does have some risks, we noticed 4 warning signs (and 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) we think you should know about.

While Entravision Communications 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.