Stericycle Earnings Perspective: Return On Invested Capital

Pulled from Benzinga Pro data, Stericycle SRCL showed a loss in earnings since Q4, totaling $11.30 million. Sales, on the other hand, increased by 2.07% to $684.30 million during Q1. Stericycle reached earnings of $32.10 million and sales of $670.40 million in Q4.

What Is ROIC?

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, Stericycle posted an ROIC of 1.14%.

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.

ROIC is a powerful metric for comparing the effectiveness of capital allocation for similar companies. A relatively high ROIC shows Stericycle is potentially operating at a higher level of efficiency than other companies in its industry. If the company is generating high profits with its current level of invested capital, some of that money can be reinvested in more capital which will generally lead to higher returns and, ultimately, earnings per share (EPS) growth.

For Stericycle, the positive return on invested capital ratio of 1.14% suggests that management is allocating their capital effectively. Effective capital allocation is a positive indicator that a company will achieve more durable success and favorable long-term returns.

Upcoming Earnings Estimate

Stericycle reported Q1 earnings per share at $0.49/share, which beat analyst predictions of $0.44/share.

This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.