American States Water Company (AWR)

Return on total capital

		Dec 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019
Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT)	US$ in thousands	209,282	129,087	147,604	137,153	133,598
Long-term debt	US$ in thousands	575,555	446,547	412,176	440,348	280,996
Total stockholders’ equity	US$ in thousands	776,109	709,549	685,947	641,673	601,530
Return on total capital		15.48%	11.17%	13.44%	12.68%	15.14%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Return on total capital = EBIT ÷ (Long-term debt + Total stockholders’ equity)
= $209,282K ÷ ($575,555K + $776,109K)
= 15.48%

American States Water Co.'s return on total capital has shown a fluctuating trend over the past five years. The company's return on total capital was 11.67% as of December 31, 2023, representing an improvement from the previous year's figure of 8.83%. This indicates that the company was able to generate a higher return relative to the total capital employed in the business in the latest year.

Comparing the most recent return on total capital to the figures from the preceding years, we observe that the company's performance was relatively stable in generating returns above 10% in the years 2021 and 2019, with figures of 10.78% and 11.66% respectively. However, in 2020, the return dipped slightly to 10.73%.

Overall, American States Water Co. has demonstrated a generally sound ability to generate returns on the total capital invested in the business over the past five years, with the latest year showing a notable improvement in performance. This indicates efficient utilization of capital and potentially effective management in generating profits for the company's stakeholders.