Capital Allocation Trends At CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Aren't Ideal
Capital Allocation Trends At CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) Aren't Ideal
If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? 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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think CarGurus (NASDAQ:CARG) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.
如果我们想找到一只可以长期成倍增长的股票,我们应该寻找哪些潜在趋势?在一个完美的世界中,我们希望看到一家公司向其业务投入更多资本,理想情况下,从这些资本中获得的回报也在增加。如果你看到这一点,这通常意味着它是一家拥有良好商业模式和大量盈利再投资机会的公司。但是,在简短地查看了这些数字之后,我们认为CarGurus(纳斯达克股票代码:CARG)在未来不具备多装袋机的实力,但让我们来看看为什么会这样。
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
了解资本使用回报率 (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. To calculate this metric for CarGurus, this is the formula:
对于那些不知道的人来说,ROCE是衡量公司年度税前利润(其回报率)的指标,相对于该业务使用的资本。要计算 carGurus 的这个指标,公式如下:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
已动用资本回报率 = 息税前收益 (EBIT) ¥(总资产-流动负债)
0.041 = US$33m ÷ (US$919m - US$115m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).
0.041 = 3300万美元 ÷(9.19亿美元-1.15亿美元) (基于截至2023年12月的过去十二个月)。
Therefore, CarGurus has an ROCE of 4.1%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Interactive Media and Services industry average of 6.4%.
因此,CarGurus的投资回报率为4.1%。从绝对值来看,这是一个低回报,其表现也低于互动媒体和服务行业6.4%的平均水平。
![roce](https://usnewsfile.moomoo.com/public/MM-PersistNewsContentImage/7781/20240426/0-1cb61e500540e94c90095218d9126f77-0-bfb1549331d007d5517e191c812e4a97.png/big)
Above you can see how the current ROCE for CarGurus 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 CarGurus for free.
上面你可以看到CarGurus当前的投资回报率与其先前的资本回报率相比如何,但从过去可以看出来的只有那么多。如果你愿意,你可以免费查看报道CarGurus的分析师的预测。
What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us
ROCE 的趋势能告诉我们什么
In terms of CarGurus' historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 11%, but since then they've fallen to 4.1%. Given the business is employing more capital while revenue has slipped, this is a bit concerning. If this were to continue, you might be looking at a company that is trying to reinvest for growth but is actually losing market share since sales haven't increased.
就CarGurus的历史ROCE运动而言,这种趋势并不理想。大约五年前,资本回报率为11%,但此后已降至4.1%。鉴于该企业在收入下滑的情况下雇用了更多的资本,这有点令人担忧。如果这种情况继续下去,你可能会看到一家试图进行再投资以促进增长,但由于销售额没有增加,实际上正在失去市场份额的公司。
On a related note, CarGurus has decreased its current liabilities to 13% of total assets. So we could link some of this to the decrease in ROCE. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Some would claim this reduces the business' efficiency at generating ROCE since it is now funding more of the operations with its own money.
与此相关的是,CarGurus已将其流动负债减少至总资产的13%。因此,我们可以将其中一些与ROCE的下降联系起来。实际上,这意味着他们的供应商或短期债权人减少了对企业的融资,从而降低了某些风险因素。有人会声称这降低了企业产生投资回报的效率,因为该公司现在正在用自己的资金为更多的业务提供资金。
The Bottom Line
底线
We're a bit apprehensive about CarGurus because despite more capital being deployed in the business, returns on that capital and sales have both fallen. Long term shareholders who've owned the stock over the last five years have experienced a 43% depreciation in their investment, so it appears the market might not like these trends either. With underlying trends that aren't great in these areas, we'd consider looking elsewhere.
我们对CarGurus有点担心,因为尽管在业务中部署了更多资金,但资本回报率和销售额都下降了。在过去五年中持有该股的长期股东的投资贬值了43%,因此看来市场可能也不喜欢这些趋势。由于这些领域的潜在趋势并不理想,我们会考虑将目光投向其他地方。
Like most companies, CarGurus does come with some risks, and we've found 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.
像大多数公司一样,CarGurus确实存在一些风险,我们发现了一个你应该注意的警告信号。
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.
对于那些喜欢投资稳健公司的人,可以查看这份资产负债表稳健和股本回报率高的公司的免费清单。
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
对这篇文章有反馈吗?对内容感到担忧?直接联系我们。 或者,给编辑团队 (at) simplywallst.com 发送电子邮件。
Simply Wall St的这篇文章本质上是笼统的。我们仅使用公正的方法根据历史数据和分析师的预测提供评论,我们的文章无意作为财务建议。它不构成买入或卖出任何股票的建议,也没有考虑到您的目标或财务状况。我们的目标是为您提供由基本数据驱动的长期重点分析。请注意,我们的分析可能不考虑最新的价格敏感型公司公告或定性材料。简而言之,华尔街没有持有任何上述股票的头寸。