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Be Wary Of Children's Place (NASDAQ:PLCE) And Its Returns On Capital

If you're looking at a mature business that's past the growth phase, what are some of the underlying trends that pop up? More often than not, we'll see a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) and a declining amount of capital employed. This indicates to us that the business is not only shrinking the size of its net assets, but its returns are falling as well. On that note, looking into Children's Place (NASDAQ:PLCE), we weren't too upbeat about how things were going.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Children's Place:

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

0.073 = US$26m ÷ (US$1.2b - US$810m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to August 2020).

So, Children's Place has an ROCE of 7.3%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Specialty Retail industry average of 9.7%.

See our latest analysis for Children's Place

roce
roce

In the above chart we have measured Children's Place'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 Children's Place here for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

The trend of ROCE at Children's Place is showing some signs of weakness. To be more specific, today's ROCE was 15% five years ago but has since fallen to 7.3%. On top of that, the business is utilizing 42% less capital within its operations. When you see both ROCE and capital employed diminishing, it can often be a sign of a mature and shrinking business that might be in structural decline. If these underlying trends continue, we wouldn't be too optimistic going forward.

While on the subject, we noticed that the ratio of current liabilities to total assets has risen to 69%, which has impacted the ROCE. If current liabilities hadn't increased as much as they did, the ROCE could actually be even lower. And with current liabilities at these levels, suppliers or short-term creditors are effectively funding a large part of the business, which can introduce some risks.

Our Take On Children's Place's ROCE

To see Children's Place reducing the capital employed in the business in tandem with diminishing returns, is concerning. It should come as no surprise then that the stock has fallen 50% over the last five years, so it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. That being the case, unless the underlying trends revert to a more positive trajectory, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

One more thing: We've identified 2 warning signs with Children's Place (at least 1 which shouldn't be ignored) , and understanding these would certainly be useful.

While Children's Place 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.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

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