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Our Take On The Returns On Capital At United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS)

Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. In light of that, when we looked at United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for United Parcel Service:

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

0.12 = US$5.6b ÷ (US$62b - US$16b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).

Therefore, United Parcel Service has an ROCE of 12%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 7.8% generated by the Logistics industry.

View our latest analysis for United Parcel Service

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In the above chart we have measured United Parcel Service's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering United Parcel Service here for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For United Parcel Service Tell Us?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at United Parcel Service, we didn't gain much confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 12% from 23% five years ago. 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's worth keeping an eye on the company's earnings from here on to see if these investments do end up contributing to the bottom line.

The Bottom Line On United Parcel Service's ROCE

In summary, United Parcel Service is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. Since the stock has gained an impressive 93% over the last five years, investors must think there's better things to come. But if the trajectory of these underlying trends continue, we think the likelihood of it being a multi-bagger from here isn't high.

If you want to continue researching United Parcel Service, you might be interested to know about the 3 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.

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.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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