When it comes to investing, there are some useful financial metrics that can warn us when a business is potentially in trouble. More often than not, we'll see a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) and a declining amount of capital employed. This indicates the company is producing less profit from its investments and its total assets are decreasing. So after glancing at the trends within Tutor Perini (NYSE:TPC), we weren't too hopeful.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Tutor Perini is:

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

0.0039 = US$11m ÷ (US$4.7b - US$2.0b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).

Therefore, Tutor Perini has an ROCE of 0.4%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Construction industry average of 8.5%.

Check out our latest analysis for Tutor Perini

In the above chart we have measured Tutor Perini's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

There is reason to be cautious about Tutor Perini, given the returns are trending downwards. To be more specific, the ROCE was 6.8% five years ago, but since then it has dropped noticeably. Meanwhile, capital employed in the business has stayed roughly the flat over the period. Companies that exhibit these attributes tend to not be shrinking, but they can be mature and facing pressure on their margins from competition. So because these trends aren't typically conducive to creating a multi-bagger, we wouldn't hold our breath on Tutor Perini becoming one if things continue as they have.

Another thing to note, Tutor Perini has a high ratio of current liabilities to total assets of 42%. This can bring about some risks because the company is basically operating with a rather large reliance on its suppliers or other sorts of short-term creditors. Ideally we'd like to see this reduce as that would mean fewer obligations bearing risks.

The Key Takeaway

In summary, it's unfortunate that Tutor Perini is generating lower returns from the same amount of capital. We expect this has contributed to the stock plummeting 70% during the last five years. Unless there is a shift to a more positive trajectory in these metrics, we would look elsewhere.

On a final note, we found 2 warning signs for Tutor Perini (1 is a bit concerning) you should be aware of.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

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.

Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here