Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY)

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	6,358,000	14,068,000	3,189,000	-17,072,000	-207,000
Long-term debt	US$ in thousands	—	19,670,000	29,431,000	35,745,000	38,537,000
Total stockholders’ equity	US$ in thousands	30,250,000	30,085,000	20,327,000	18,573,000	34,232,000
Return on total capital		21.02%	28.27%	6.41%	-31.43%	-0.28%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Return on total capital = EBIT ÷ (Long-term debt + Total stockholders’ equity)
= $6,358,000K ÷ ($—K + $30,250,000K)
= 21.02%

Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s return on total capital has fluctuated over the past five years. The return on total capital was positive in all years except in 2020 when it was negative (-1.62%). The company experienced a significant decrease in return on total capital from 2019 to 2020, but it rebounded in subsequent years. In 2022, the return on total capital was highest at 31.51%, indicating strong performance in efficiently utilizing its capital to generate profits. The return on total capital decreased to 16.07% in 2023, signifying a slight dip in the company's ability to generate returns on its total invested capital compared to the previous year. Overall, the trend suggests that Occidental Petroleum Corp. has demonstrated variable performance in generating returns on its total capital in the past five years.