Here's What's Concerning About Globant's (NYSE:GLOB) Returns On Capital

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. 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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. In light of that, when we looked at Globant (NYSE:GLOB) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

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. To calculate this metric for Globant, this is the formula:

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

0.11 = US$229m ÷ (US$2.7b - US$632m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

Therefore, Globant has an ROCE of 11%. That's a pretty standard return and it's in line with the industry average of 11%.

Check out our latest analysis for Globant

In the above chart we have measured Globant's 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 analyst report for Globant .

The Trend Of ROCE

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Globant doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 20% over the last five years. However, given capital employed and revenue have both increased it appears that the business is currently pursuing growth, at the consequence of short term returns. And if the increased capital generates additional returns, the business, and thus shareholders, will benefit in the long run.

In Conclusion...

In summary, despite lower returns in the short term, we're encouraged to see that Globant is reinvesting for growth and has higher sales as a result. Furthermore the stock has climbed 52% over the last five years, it would appear that investors are upbeat about the future. So while the underlying trends could already be accounted for by investors, we still think this stock is worth looking into further.

On a final note, we've found 1 warning sign for Globant that we think you should be aware of.

While Globant 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.