Investors Met With Slowing Returns on Capital At ExlService Holdings (NASDAQ:EXLS)

There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. 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. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. With that in mind, the ROCE of ExlService Holdings (NASDAQ:EXLS) looks decent, right now, so lets see what the trend of returns can tell us.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for ExlService Holdings, this is the formula:

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

0.16 = US$149m ÷ (US$1.2b - US$207m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).

So, ExlService Holdings has an ROCE of 16%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the IT industry average of 12% it's much better.

See our latest analysis for ExlService Holdings

In the above chart we have measured ExlService Holdings' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

So How Is ExlService Holdings' ROCE Trending?

While the current returns on capital are decent, they haven't changed much. The company has employed 76% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 16%. Since 16% is a moderate ROCE though, it's good to see a business can continue to reinvest at these decent rates of return. 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.

What We Can Learn From ExlService Holdings' ROCE

The main thing to remember is that ExlService Holdings has proven its ability to continually reinvest at respectable rates of return. And long term investors would be thrilled with the 138% return they've received over the last five years. So while investors seem to be recognizing these promising trends, we still believe the stock deserves further research.

If you're still interested in ExlService Holdings it's worth checking out our FREE intrinsic value approximation to see if it's trading at an attractive price in other respects.

While ExlService Holdings 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.
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