Yahoo Finance Here's What's Concerning About Quorum Information Technologies' (CVE:QIS) Returns On Capital
What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Having said that, from a first glance at Quorum Information Technologies (CVE:QIS) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.
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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Quorum Information Technologies:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.004 = CA$173k ÷ (CA$48m - CA$4.4m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).
So, Quorum Information Technologies has an ROCE of 0.4%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Software industry average of 13%.
View our latest analysis for Quorum Information Technologies
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Quorum Information Technologies compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
How Are Returns Trending?
When we looked at the ROCE trend at Quorum Information Technologies, we didn't gain much confidence. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 3.7%, but since then they've fallen to 0.4%. Although, given both revenue and the amount of assets employed in the business have increased, it could suggest the company is investing in growth, and the extra capital has led to a short-term reduction in ROCE. If these investments prove successful, this can bode very well for long term stock performance.
The Bottom Line On Quorum Information Technologies' ROCE
In summary, despite lower returns in the short term, we're encouraged to see that Quorum Information Technologies is reinvesting for growth and has higher sales as a result. In light of this, the stock has only gained 14% over the last five years. Therefore we'd recommend looking further into this stock to confirm if it has the makings of a good investment.
If you want to know some of the risks facing Quorum Information Technologies we've found 2 warning signs (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
While Quorum Information Technologies isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.
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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.
