Barrett Business Services's Return on Invested Capital Overview

According to Benzinga Pro, during Q1, Barrett Business Services BBSI earned $288.00 thousand, a 97.29% increase from the preceding quarter. Barrett Business Services's sales decreased to $246.38 million, a 3.97% change since Q4. In Q4, Barrett Business Services earned $10.61 million, and total sales reached $256.57 million.

Why Is ROIC Significant?

Return on Invested Capital is a measure of yearly pre-tax profit relative to capital invested by a business. Changes in earnings and sales indicate shifts in a company's ROIC. A higher ROIC is generally representative of successful growth of a company and is a sign of higher earnings per share in the future. A low or negative ROIC suggests the opposite. In Q1, Barrett Business Services posted an ROIC of -0.71%.

Keep in mind, while ROIC is a good measure of a company's recent performance, it is not a highly reliable predictor of a company's earnings or sales in the near future.

Earnings data without context is not clear and can difficult to base trading decisions on. Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) helps to filter signal from noise by measuring yearly pre-tax profit relative to invested capital by a business. Generally, a higher ROIC suggests successful growth of a company and is a sign of higher earnings per share in the future. In Q1, Barrett Business Services posted an ROIC of -0.71%.

It is important to keep in mind that ROIC evaluates past performance and is not used as a predictive tool. It is a good measure of a company's recent performance, but does not account for factors that could affect earnings and sales in the near future.

For Barrett Business Services, a negative ROIC ratio of -0.71% suggests that management may not be effectively allocating their capital. Effective capital allocation is a positive indicator that a company will achieve more durable success and favorable long-term returns; poor capital allocation can be a leech on the performance of a company over time.