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Why You Should Care About Aware, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AWRE) Low Return On Capital

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Today we’ll look at Aware, Inc. (NASDAQ:AWRE) and reflect on its potential as an investment. Specifically, we’ll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), since that will give us an insight into how efficiently the business can generate profits from the capital it requires.

First, we’ll go over how we calculate ROCE. Second, we’ll look at its ROCE compared to similar companies. Then we’ll determine how its current liabilities are affecting its ROCE.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

ROCE is a measure of a company’s yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. In general, businesses with a higher ROCE are usually better quality. In brief, it is a useful tool, but it is not without drawbacks. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussin has suggested that a high ROCE can indicate that ‘one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar’.

So, How Do We Calculate ROCE?

The formula for calculating the return on capital employed is:

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

Or for Aware:

0.0061 = US$381k ÷ (US$66m – US$4.5m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.)

Therefore, Aware has an ROCE of 0.6%.

View our latest analysis for Aware

Is Aware’s ROCE Good?

When making comparisons between similar businesses, investors may find ROCE useful. We can see Aware’s ROCE is meaningfully below the Software industry average of 9.4%. This performance is not ideal, as it suggests the company may not be deploying its capital as effectively as some competitors. Putting aside Aware’s performance relative to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms is poor – considering the risk of owning stocks compared to government bonds. There are potentially more appealing investments elsewhere.

Aware’s current ROCE of 0.6% is lower than 3 years ago, when the company reported a 6.9% ROCE. So investors might consider if it has had issues recently.

NasdaqGM:AWRE Past Revenue and Net Income, February 25th 2019
NasdaqGM:AWRE Past Revenue and Net Income, February 25th 2019

When considering this metric, keep in mind that it is backwards looking, and not necessarily predictive. Companies in cyclical industries can be difficult to understand using ROCE, as returns typically look high during boom times, and low during busts. ROCE is, after all, simply a snap shot of a single year. You can check if Aware has cyclical profits by looking at this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Aware’s Current Liabilities And Their Impact On Its ROCE

Short term (or current) liabilities, are things like supplier invoices, overdrafts, or tax bills that need to be paid within 12 months. Due to the way ROCE is calculated, a high level of current liabilities makes a company look as though it has less capital employed, and thus can (sometimes unfairly) boost the ROCE. To counter this, investors can check if a company has high current liabilities relative to total assets.

Aware has total assets of US$66m and current liabilities of US$4.5m. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 6.7% of its total assets. Aware has a low level of current liabilities, which have a negligible impact on its already low ROCE.

Our Take On Aware’s ROCE

Still, investors could probably find more attractive prospects with better performance out there. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with modest (or no) debt, trading on a P/E below 20.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.

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