Yahoo Finance Constellation Energy's (NASDAQ:CEG) Returns Have Hit A Wall
Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. 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. Although, when we looked at Constellation Energy (NASDAQ:CEG), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Constellation Energy, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.037 = US$1.6b ÷ (US$51b - US$6.3b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).
So, Constellation Energy has an ROCE of 3.7%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Electric Utilities industry average of 4.6%.
Check out our latest analysis for Constellation Energy
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Constellation Energy 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 Constellation Energy for free.
The Trend Of ROCE
Things have been pretty stable at Constellation Energy, with its capital employed and returns on that capital staying somewhat the same for the last five years. This tells us the company isn't reinvesting in itself, so it's plausible that it's past the growth phase. So unless we see a substantial change at Constellation Energy in terms of ROCE and additional investments being made, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger.
What We Can Learn From Constellation Energy's ROCE
In a nutshell, Constellation Energy has been trudging along with the same returns from the same amount of capital over the last five years. Yet to long term shareholders the stock has gifted them an incredible 146% return in the last year, so the market appears to be rosy about its future. Ultimately, if the underlying trends persist, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger going forward.
On a final note, we've found 2 warning signs for Constellation Energy that we think you should be aware of.
If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.
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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.
