Dun & Bradstreet Holdings (NYSE:DNB) Might Be Having Difficulty Using Its Capital Effectively

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. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. In light of that, when we looked at Dun & Bradstreet Holdings (NYSE:DNB) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

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

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. The formula for this calculation on Dun & Bradstreet Holdings is:

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

0.027 = US$233m ÷ (US$9.4b - US$936m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

So, Dun & Bradstreet Holdings has an ROCE of 2.7%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Professional Services industry average of 13%.

See our latest analysis for Dun & Bradstreet Holdings

In the above chart we have measured Dun & Bradstreet Holdings' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Dun & Bradstreet Holdings.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, we didn't gain much confidence. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 30%, but since then they've fallen to 2.7%. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It's worth keeping an eye on the company's earnings from here on to see if these investments do end up contributing to the bottom line.

On a side note, Dun & Bradstreet Holdings has done well to pay down its current liabilities to 9.9% of total assets. That could partly explain why the ROCE has dropped. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Some would claim this reduces the business' efficiency at generating ROCE since it is now funding more of the operations with its own money.

The Bottom Line

To conclude, we've found that Dun & Bradstreet Holdings is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. Since the stock has declined 33% over the last year, investors may not be too optimistic on this trend improving either. On the whole, we aren't too inspired by the underlying trends and we think there may be better chances of finding a multi-bagger elsewhere.

While Dun & Bradstreet Holdings 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 on our platform.

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.

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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.