Return Trends At Alsea. de (BMV:ALSEA) Aren't Appealing

What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. That's why when we briefly looked at Alsea. de's (BMV:ALSEA) ROCE trend, we were pretty happy with what we saw.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Alsea. de:

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

0.13 = Mex$6.6b ÷ (Mex$72b - Mex$22b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Thus, Alsea. de has an ROCE of 13%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 7.3% generated by the Hospitality industry.

See our latest analysis for Alsea. de

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Alsea. de compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Alsea. de here for free.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

While the current returns on capital are decent, they haven't changed much. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 13% and the business has deployed 82% more capital into its operations. 13% is a pretty standard return, and it provides some comfort knowing that Alsea. de 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 Alsea. de's ROCE

The main thing to remember is that Alsea. de has proven its ability to continually reinvest at respectable rates of return. Yet over the last five years the stock has declined 15%, so the decline might provide an opening. For that reason, savvy investors might want to look further into this company in case it's a prime investment.

One more thing, we've spotted 1 warning sign facing Alsea. de that you might find interesting.

While Alsea. de 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.