Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (LGND)

Return on total capital

		Dec 31, 2023	Sep 30, 2023	Jun 30, 2023	Mar 31, 2023	Dec 31, 2022	Sep 30, 2022	Jun 30, 2022	Mar 31, 2022	Dec 31, 2021	Sep 30, 2021	Jun 30, 2021	Mar 31, 2021	Dec 31, 2020	Sep 30, 2020	Jun 30, 2020	Mar 31, 2020	Dec 31, 2019	Sep 30, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Mar 31, 2019
Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) (ttm)	US$ in thousands	62,651	66,852	82,440	74,590	9,668	-8,631	7,622	50,201	72,608	79,233	54,192	50,340	16,877	7,781	2,246	-41,102	832,384	795,079	896,383	1,014,432
Long-term debt	US$ in thousands	—	—	—	—	0	0	0	176,540	320,717	316,889	315,318	352,313	442,293	454,973	449,672	444,432	638,959	631,533	624,209	616,987
Total stockholders’ equity	US$ in thousands	700,913	667,896	664,892	646,317	597,485	816,298	802,365	793,192	821,159	812,066	786,517	745,840	709,525	697,824	695,003	661,896	767,232	850,581	1,041,450	1,079,970
Return on total capital		8.94%	10.01%	12.40%	11.54%	1.62%	-1.06%	0.95%	5.18%	6.36%	7.02%	4.92%	4.58%	1.47%	0.67%	0.20%	-3.72%	59.19%	53.64%	53.82%	59.78%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Return on total capital = EBIT (ttm) ÷ (Long-term debt + Total stockholders’ equity)
= $62,651K ÷ ($—K + $700,913K)
= 8.94%

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s return on total capital has shown fluctuations over the past eight quarters. The company experienced a notable increase in return on total capital in Q2 and Q3 of 2023, reaching 12.53% and 10.69%, respectively. Prior to that, in Q1 2023, the return on total capital was 10.92%. In contrast, the lowest values were recorded in Q2 and Q3 of 2022, with -0.25% and -2.27%, respectively. The most recent return on total capital in Q4 2023 was 1.40%, indicating a decrease compared to the prior quarter. Overall, the return on total capital for Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has shown variability, with both positive and negative trends during the specified period.