Returns On Capital Tell Us A Lot About International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT)

Simply Wall St
·3 min read

What financial metrics can indicate to us that a company is maturing or even in decline? 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. This reveals that the company isn't compounding shareholder wealth because returns are falling and its net asset base is shrinking. Having said that, after a brief look, International Game Technology (NYSE:IGT) we aren't filled with optimism, but let's investigate further.

What is 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. To calculate this metric for International Game Technology, this is the formula:

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

0.036 = US$375m ÷ (US$13b - US$2.5b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

So, International Game Technology has an ROCE of 3.6%. Even though it's in line with the industry average of 4.1%, it's still a low return by itself.

See our latest analysis for International Game Technology

roce
roce

Above you can see how the current ROCE for International Game Technology 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 International Game Technology here for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

The trend of returns that International Game Technology is generating are raising some concerns. To be more specific, today's ROCE was 4.7% five years ago but has since fallen to 3.6%. In addition to that, International Game Technology is now employing 24% less capital than it was five years ago. The combination of lower ROCE and less capital employed can indicate that a business is likely to be facing some competitive headwinds or seeing an erosion to its moat. If these underlying trends continue, we wouldn't be too optimistic going forward.

The Key Takeaway

To see International Game Technology reducing the capital employed in the business in tandem with diminishing returns, is concerning. However the stock has delivered a 65% return to shareholders over the last five years, so investors might be expecting the trends to turn around. In any case, the current underlying trends don't bode well for long term performance so unless they reverse, we'd start looking elsewhere.

On a separate note, we've found 1 warning sign for International Game Technology you'll probably want to know about.

While International Game Technology isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are 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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