Returns On Capital - An Important Metric For Upland Software (NASDAQ:UPLD)

If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. So on that note, Upland Software (NASDAQ:UPLD) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

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 Upland Software:

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

0.0037 = US$3.3m ÷ (US$1.0b - US$121m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

Therefore, Upland Software has an ROCE of 0.4%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Software industry average of 11%.

Check out our latest analysis for Upland Software

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Upland Software 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 Upland Software here for free.

What Can We Tell From Upland Software's ROCE Trend?

Upland Software has recently broken into profitability so their prior investments seem to be paying off. The company was generating losses five years ago, but now it's earning 0.4% which is a sight for sore eyes. In addition to that, Upland Software is employing 905% more capital than previously which is expected of a company that's trying to break into profitability. This can tell us that the company has plenty of reinvestment opportunities that are able to generate higher returns.

One more thing to note, Upland Software has decreased current liabilities to 12% of total assets over this period, which effectively reduces the amount of funding from suppliers or short-term creditors. So shareholders would be pleased that the growth in returns has mostly come from underlying business performance.

The Bottom Line On Upland Software's ROCE

Overall, Upland Software gets a big tick from us thanks in most part to the fact that it is now profitable and is reinvesting in its business. And a remarkable 621% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

One more thing to note, we've identified 3 warning signs with Upland Software and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

While Upland Software 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. 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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