To avoid investing in a business that's in decline, there's a few financial metrics that can provide early indications of aging. More often than not, we'll see a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) and a declining amount of capital employed. Basically the company is earning less on its investments and it is also reducing its total assets. On that note, looking into Kohl's (NYSE:KSS), we weren't too upbeat about how things were going.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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 Kohl's:

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

0.063 = US$717m ÷ (US$14b - US$2.6b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to February 2024).

Therefore, Kohl's has an ROCE of 6.3%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Multiline Retail industry average of 11%.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Kohl's 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 analyst report for Kohl's .

How Are Returns Trending?

We are a bit worried about the trend of returns on capital at Kohl's. Unfortunately the returns on capital have diminished from the 15% that they were earning five years ago. And on the capital employed front, the business is utilizing roughly the same amount of capital as it was back then. Since returns are falling and the business has the same amount of assets employed, this can suggest it's a mature business that hasn't had much growth in the last five years. If these trends continue, we wouldn't expect Kohl's to turn into a multi-bagger.

Our Take On Kohl's' ROCE

In summary, it's unfortunate that Kohl's is generating lower returns from the same amount of capital. Long term shareholders who've owned the stock over the last five years have experienced a 51% depreciation in their investment, so it appears the market might not like these trends either. That being the case, unless the underlying trends revert to a more positive trajectory, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

Kohl's does come with some risks though, we found 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is significant...

While Kohl's 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.