The Returns On Capital At Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Don't Inspire Confidence

Simply Wall St
·3 min read

What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? 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. So when we looked at Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL), they do have a high ROCE, but we weren't exactly elated from how returns are trending.

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. The formula for this calculation on Colgate-Palmolive is:

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

0.34 = US$3.8b ÷ (US$16b - US$4.5b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2021).

Thus, Colgate-Palmolive has an ROCE of 34%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 21% earned by companies in a similar industry.

View our latest analysis for Colgate-Palmolive

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Above you can see how the current ROCE for Colgate-Palmolive 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 Colgate-Palmolive here for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Colgate-Palmolive doesn't inspire confidence. While it's comforting that the ROCE is high, five years ago it was 49%. However it looks like Colgate-Palmolive might be reinvesting for long term growth because while capital employed has increased, the company's sales haven't changed much in the last 12 months. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

What We Can Learn From Colgate-Palmolive's ROCE

In summary, Colgate-Palmolive is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. Unsurprisingly, the stock has only gained 29% over the last five years, which potentially indicates that investors are accounting for this going forward. As a result, if you're hunting for a multi-bagger, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.

If you want to continue researching Colgate-Palmolive, you might be interested to know about the 2 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.

High returns are a key ingredient to strong performance, so check out our free list ofstocks earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

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