Yahoo Finance Generac Holdings (NYSE:GNRC) Will Want To Turn Around Its Return Trends
If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing 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. Having said that, from a first glance at Generac Holdings (NYSE:GNRC) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.
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. The formula for this calculation on Generac Holdings is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.092 = US$387m ÷ (US$5.1b - US$881m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).
Thus, Generac Holdings has an ROCE of 9.2%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Electrical industry average of 14%.
View our latest analysis for Generac Holdings
In the above chart we have measured Generac 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 analyst report for Generac Holdings .
What Can We Tell From Generac Holdings' ROCE Trend?
In terms of Generac Holdings' historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 19% over the last five years. Given the business is employing more capital while revenue has slipped, this is a bit concerning. If this were to continue, you might be looking at a company that is trying to reinvest for growth but is actually losing market share since sales haven't increased.
Our Take On Generac Holdings' ROCE
We're a bit apprehensive about Generac Holdings because despite more capital being deployed in the business, returns on that capital and sales have both fallen. Since the stock has skyrocketed 133% over the last five years, it looks like investors have high expectations of the stock. In any case, the current underlying trends don't bode well for long term performance so unless they reverse, we'd start looking elsewhere.
If you want to continue researching Generac Holdings, you might be interested to know about the 2 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.
While Generac 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.
