Investors Met With Slowing Returns on Capital At SCSK (TSE:9719)

If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. With that in mind, the ROCE of SCSK (TSE:9719) looks decent, right now, so lets see what the trend of returns can tell us.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. The formula for this calculation on SCSK is:

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

0.15 = JP¥57b ÷ (JP¥466b - JP¥96b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

So, SCSK has an ROCE of 15%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty normal return, and it's somewhat close to the IT industry average of 16%.

See our latest analysis for SCSK

Above you can see how the current ROCE for SCSK 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 analyst report for SCSK .

How Are Returns Trending?

The trend of ROCE doesn't stand out much, but returns on a whole are decent. The company has employed 60% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 15%. 15% is a pretty standard return, and it provides some comfort knowing that SCSK has consistently earned this amount. Stable returns in this ballpark can be unexciting, but if they can be maintained over the long run, they often provide nice rewards to shareholders.

The Bottom Line On SCSK's ROCE

In the end, SCSK has proven its ability to adequately reinvest capital at good rates of return. And the stock has followed suit returning a meaningful 96% to shareholders over the last five years. So while investors seem to be recognizing these promising trends, we still believe the stock deserves further research.

While SCSK doesn't shine too bright in this respect, it's still worth seeing if the company is trading at attractive prices. You can find that out with our FREE intrinsic value estimation for 9719 on our platform.

While SCSK may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.