Is Select Interior Concepts, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIC) Investing Your Capital Efficiently?

    Today we are going to look at Select Interior Concepts, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIC) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. Specifically, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), since that will give us an insight into how efficiently the business can generate profits from the capital it requires.

    Firstly, we'll go over how we calculate ROCE. Second, we'll look at its ROCE compared to similar companies. Finally, we'll look at how its current liabilities affect its ROCE.

    Advertisement

    What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

    ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Generally speaking a higher ROCE is better. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussin has suggested that a high ROCE can indicate that 'one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar'.

    How Do You Calculate Return On Capital Employed?

    Analysts use this formula to calculate return on capital employed:

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

    Or for Select Interior Concepts:

    0.051 = US$18m ÷ (US$429m - US$80m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.)

    So, Select Interior Concepts has an ROCE of 5.1%.

    See our latest analysis for Select Interior Concepts

    Is Select Interior Concepts's ROCE Good?

    ROCE can be useful when making comparisons, such as between similar companies. Using our data, Select Interior Concepts's ROCE appears to be significantly below the 10% average in the Consumer Services industry. This performance is not ideal, as it suggests the company may not be deploying its capital as effectively as some competitors. Putting aside Select Interior Concepts's performance relative to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms is poor - considering the risk of owning stocks compared to government bonds. It is likely that there are more attractive prospects out there.

    NasdaqCM:SIC Past Revenue and Net Income, August 15th 2019
    NasdaqCM:SIC Past Revenue and Net Income, August 15th 2019

    Remember that this metric is backwards looking - it shows what has happened in the past, and does not accurately predict the future. ROCE can be deceptive for cyclical businesses, as returns can look incredible in boom times, and terribly low in downturns. ROCE is, after all, simply a snap shot of a single year. Since the future is so important for investors, you should check out our free report on analyst forecasts for Select Interior Concepts.

    Select Interior Concepts's Current Liabilities And Their Impact On Its ROCE

    Liabilities, such as supplier bills and bank overdrafts, are referred to as current liabilities if they need to be paid within 12 months. The ROCE equation subtracts current liabilities from capital employed, so a company with a lot of current liabilities appears to have less capital employed, and a higher ROCE than otherwise. To counter this, investors can check if a company has high current liabilities relative to total assets.

    Select Interior Concepts has total liabilities of US$80m and total assets of US$429m. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 19% of its total assets. This is not a high level of current liabilities, which would not boost the ROCE by much.

    Our Take On Select Interior Concepts's ROCE

    While that is good to see, Select Interior Concepts has a low ROCE and does not look attractive in this analysis. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with modest (or no) debt, trading on a P/E below 20.

    If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

    We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

    If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.

    Advertisement

    Weekly Picks

    LO
    Lou_Basenese
    OPTH logo
    Lou_Basenese on Optimi Health ·

    The Only Psychedelic Company Already Selling MDMA and Psilocybin to Real Patients, Yet Priced Like It Doesn’t Exist

    Fair Value:US$1157.5% undervalued
    48 users have followed this narrative
    2 users have commented on this narrative
    8 users have liked this narrative
    WE
    WealthAP
    NOVO B logo
    WealthAP on Novo Nordisk ·

    Novo Nordisk (NVO): Is the "Easy Growth" Story Over?

    Fair Value:DKK 407.7720.1% undervalued
    69 users have followed this narrative
    0 users have commented on this narrative
    8 users have liked this narrative
    VA
    ValueInvestingSubstack
    ZTS logo
    ValueInvestingSubstack on Zoetis ·

    Zoetis down -50% over the past year

    Fair Value:US$92.9218.9% undervalued
    23 users have followed this narrative
    0 users have commented on this narrative
    9 users have liked this narrative
    CE
    CentryResearch
    LEU logo
    CentryResearch on Centrus Energy ·

    Centrus Energy: The Next Nuclear Bottleneck Isn't Reactors. It's Fuel.

    Fair Value:US$19013.7% undervalued
    24 users have followed this narrative
    0 users have commented on this narrative
    10 users have liked this narrative

    Updated Narratives

    WI
    WisetoWealth
    PYPL logo
    WisetoWealth on PayPal Holdings ·

    The Underrated Transformation of a Digital Payments Giant

    Fair Value:US$90.3137.8% undervalued
    4 users have followed this narrative
    0 users have commented on this narrative
    0 users have liked this narrative
    BL
    Blagget
    TERA logo
    Blagget on Terra Balcanica Resources ·

    The C$4M Explorer Positioned to Become Europe's First Antimony Mine

    Fair Value:CA$0.487.5% undervalued
    3 users have followed this narrative
    0 users have commented on this narrative
    0 users have liked this narrative
    DA
    CHTR logo
    david_6nroa on Charter Communications ·

    Charter is undervalued - Here's why.

    Fair Value:US$87.0741.6% overvalued
    1 users have followed this narrative
    0 users have commented on this narrative
    0 users have liked this narrative

    Popular Narratives

    CU
    MSFT logo
    CubanEros on Microsoft ·

    A wonderful business at reasonable price.

    Fair Value:US$419.919.1% undervalued
    83 users have followed this narrative
    0 users have commented on this narrative
    6 users have liked this narrative
    OS
    oscargarcia
    NVDA logo
    oscargarcia on NVIDIA ·

    The company that went from selling GPUs to gamers to becoming the AI arms dealer of the 21st century.

    Fair Value:US$28026.1% undervalued
    190 users have followed this narrative
    9 users have commented on this narrative
    15 users have liked this narrative
    BE
    PYPL logo
    benjamin_lvieq on PayPal Holdings ·

    PayPal: PayPal Doesn't Need to Grow – It Needs to Stop Falling – A Mispriced Cash Machine With a Cannibal Buyback

    Fair Value:US$6513.6% undervalued
    72 users have followed this narrative
    2 users have commented on this narrative
    11 users have liked this narrative

    Trending Discussion

    DE
    TDOC logo
    derek_3wsdg on Teladoc Health ·

    You’ve overlooked the activist investor factor. Travis Cocke’s Voss has announced 5% ownership through a 13G filing. They’ve added to that 5% since, and in doing so, have created a structural trap door for 27.42 Million Shares actively sold short. Chuck will announce lots of positives on July 29 but it’s what Voss announces shortly after that will rock the overextended Teledoc shorts. The Walmart partnership is the tip of the iceberg. The market is missing the sheer regulatory and enterprise friction of modern corporate healthcare. Teladoc isn't a "consumer app"; it is the primary digital infrastructure integrated directly into the legacy backends of Tier-1 insurance companies and fortune 500 employers, covering 105 million+ lives. Teladoc is acting as the digital top-of-funnel engine for the world's largest retailer. If Voss pushes the narrative that Teladoc is effectively the outsourced digital brain of Walmart's entire healthcare footprint, the fair value shifts from a basic health multiple to an enterprise distribution premium. Additionally , we are in a structural gold rush for high-quality, legally compliant, longitudinal medical data to train vertical healthcare AI models. Large technology hyperscalers and pharmaceutical giants cannot simply scrape the internet for this; they need structured clinical inputs. Teladoc sits on one of the largest de-identified virtual medical datasets on earth. From the activist playbook , we’ll see Voss demand the immediate creation of a Data & Diagnostics Licensing Division, transforming a legacy liability into an incredibly high-margin, pure-software data asset that requires zero human clinician hours to scale. Chuck is doing great work and deserves credi5 for the Teledoc turnaround but it will be Travis Cocke who will be responsible for a share price way beyond your $15 valuation.

    1
    |
    0