Yahoo Finance NeoGames (NASDAQ:NGMS) Could Be Struggling To Allocate Capital
There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. 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. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. However, after investigating NeoGames (NASDAQ:NGMS), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.
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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for NeoGames:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.0071 = US$577k ÷ (US$95m - US$13m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).
Therefore, NeoGames has an ROCE of 0.7%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Hospitality industry average of 10%.
Check out our latest analysis for NeoGames
Above you can see how the current ROCE for NeoGames 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.
So How Is NeoGames' ROCE Trending?
On the surface, the trend of ROCE at NeoGames doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 3.8% over the last three years. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.
On a related note, NeoGames has decreased its current liabilities to 14% of total assets. That could partly explain why the ROCE has dropped. What's more, this can reduce some aspects of risk to the business because now the company's suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of its operations. Some would claim this reduces the business' efficiency at generating ROCE since it is now funding more of the operations with its own money.
The Bottom Line On NeoGames' ROCE
In summary, NeoGames is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. And investors may be expecting the fundamentals to get a lot worse because the stock has crashed 79% over the last year. Therefore based on the analysis done in this article, we don't think NeoGames has the makings of a multi-bagger.
One more thing, we've spotted 1 warning sign facing NeoGames that you might find interesting.
While NeoGames 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.
