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Some Investors May Be Worried About Stericycle's (NASDAQ:SRCL) Returns On Capital

To avoid investing in a business that's in decline, there's a few financial metrics that can provide early indications of aging. 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 Stericycle (NASDAQ:SRCL), the trends above didn't look too great.

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Stericycle:

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

0.033 = US$156m ÷ (US$5.4b - US$619m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).

So, Stericycle has an ROCE of 3.3%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Commercial Services industry average of 9.0%.

Check out our latest analysis for Stericycle

roce
roce

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Stericycle compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Stericycle.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Stericycle Tell Us?

The trend of returns that Stericycle is generating are raising some concerns. Unfortunately, returns have declined substantially over the last five years to the 3.3% we see today. In addition to that, Stericycle is now employing 22% less capital than it was five years ago. When you see both ROCE and capital employed diminishing, it can often be a sign of a mature and shrinking business that might be in structural decline. Typically businesses that exhibit these characteristics aren't the ones that tend to multiply over the long term, because statistically speaking, they've already gone through the growth phase of their life cycle.

The Key Takeaway

In short, lower returns and decreasing amounts capital employed in the business doesn't fill us with confidence. Investors haven't taken kindly to these developments, since the stock has declined 32% from where it was five years ago. With underlying trends that aren't great in these areas, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

If you're still interested in Stericycle it's worth checking out our FREE intrinsic value approximation to see if it's trading at an attractive price in other respects.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive 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.

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