Verint Systems Inc.’s (NASDAQ:VRNT) Investment Returns Are Lagging Its Industry

Today we'll look at Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT) and reflect on its potential as an investment. To be precise, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), as that will inform our view of the quality of the business.

First of all, we'll work out how to 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.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

ROCE measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed 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'.

So, How Do We Calculate ROCE?

The formula for calculating the return on capital employed is:

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

Or for Verint Systems:

0.048 = US$110m ÷ (US$2.9b - US$639m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2019.)

So, Verint Systems has an ROCE of 4.8%.

See our latest analysis for Verint Systems

Is Verint Systems's ROCE Good?

When making comparisons between similar businesses, investors may find ROCE useful. In this analysis, Verint Systems's ROCE appears meaningfully below the 10.0% average reported by the Software industry. This performance could be negative if sustained, as it suggests the business may underperform its industry. Regardless of how Verint Systems stacks up against its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms is quite low (especially compared to a bank account). Readers may wish to look for more rewarding investments.

Our data shows that Verint Systems currently has an ROCE of 4.8%, compared to its ROCE of 2.5% 3 years ago. This makes us wonder if the company is improving.

When considering ROCE, bear in mind that it reflects the past and does not necessarily predict the future. ROCE can be misleading for companies in cyclical industries, with returns looking impressive during the boom times, but very weak during the busts. This is because ROCE only looks at one year, instead of considering returns across a whole cycle. Since the future is so important for investors, you should check out our free report on analyst forecasts for Verint Systems.

How Verint Systems's Current Liabilities Impact Its ROCE

Current liabilities include invoices, such as supplier payments, short-term debt, or a tax bill, that need to be paid within 12 months. Due to the way the ROCE equation works, having large bills due in the near term can make it look as though a company has less capital employed, and thus a higher ROCE than usual. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets.

Verint Systems has total liabilities of US$639m and total assets of US$2.9b. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 22% of its total assets. With a very reasonable level of current liabilities, so the impact on ROCE is fairly minimal.

What We Can Learn From Verint Systems's ROCE

That's not a bad thing, however Verint Systems has a weak ROCE and may not be an attractive investment. Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Verint Systems. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have grown earnings strongly.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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.