When it comes to investing, there are some useful financial metrics that can warn us when a business is potentially in trouble. Typically, we’ll see the trend of both return on capital employed (ROCE) declining and this usually coincides with a decreasing amount of capital employed. This indicates the company is producing less profit from its investments and its total assets are decreasing. Having said that, after a brief look, Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) we aren’t filled with optimism, but let’s investigate further.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

If you haven’t worked with ROCE before, it measures the ‘return’ (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Matthews International, this is the formula:

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

0.032 = US$49m ÷ (US$1.9b – US$367m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

Therefore, Matthews International has an ROCE of 3.2%. Ultimately, that’s a low return and it under-performs the Commercial Services industry average of 8.6%.

View our latest analysis for Matthews International

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Matthews International 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 Matthews International here for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

The trend of ROCE at Matthews International is showing some signs of weakness. The company used to generate 5.0% on its capital five years ago but it has since fallen noticeably. What’s equally concerning is that the amount of capital deployed in the business has shrunk by 26% over that same period. The combination of lower ROCE and less capital employed can indicate that a business is likely to be facing some competitive headwinds or seeing an erosion to its moat. Typically businesses that exhibit these characteristics aren’t the ones that tend to multiply over the long term, because statistically speaking, they’ve already gone through the growth phase of their life cycle.

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The Bottom Line

In short, lower returns and decreasing amounts capital employed in the business doesn’t fill us with confidence. Long term shareholders who’ve owned the stock over the last five years have experienced a 11% depreciation in their investment, so it appears the market might not like these trends either. That being the case, unless the underlying trends revert to a more positive trajectory, we’d consider looking elsewhere.

If you want to know some of the risks facing Matthews International we’ve found 2 warning signs (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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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