What underlying fundamental trends can indicate that a company might be in decline? When we see a declining return on capital employed (ROCE) in conjunction with a declining base of capital employed, that's often how a mature business shows signs of aging. Ultimately this means that the company is earning less per dollar invested and on top of that, it's shrinking its base of capital employed. Having said that, after a brief look, IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) we aren't filled with optimism, but let's investigate further.

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Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for IPG Photonics:

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

0.0069 = US$14m ÷ (US$2.3b - US$205m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

Thus, IPG Photonics has an ROCE of 0.7%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Electronic industry average of 10%.

Check out our latest analysis for IPG Photonics

In the above chart we have measured IPG Photonics' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free analyst report for IPG Photonics .

The Trend Of ROCE

In terms of IPG Photonics' historical ROCE movements, the trend doesn't inspire confidence. Unfortunately the returns on capital have diminished from the 11% that they were earning five years ago. Meanwhile, capital employed in the business has stayed roughly the flat over the period. 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 IPG Photonics to turn into a multi-bagger.

The Key Takeaway

All in all, the lower returns from the same amount of capital employed aren't exactly signs of a compounding machine. Investors haven't taken kindly to these developments, since the stock has declined 43% from where it was five years ago. Unless there is a shift to a more positive trajectory in these metrics, we would look elsewhere.

IPG Photonics could be trading at an attractive price in other respects, so you might find our free intrinsic value estimation for IPGP on our platform quite valuable.

While IPG Photonics isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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.