Pitney Bowes Inc (PBI)
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 | -306,057 | -76,016 | -52,280 | 94,067 | 129,860 | 123,296 | 121,336 | 152,136 | 84,613 | 106,761 | 113,974 | 104,754 | -67,501 | 89,959 | 51,576 | 67,119 | 292,512 | 154,041 | 257,754 | 286,889 |
| Long-term debt | US$ in thousands | 2,087,100 | 2,101,600 | 1,884,800 | 1,910,530 | 2,172,500 | 2,189,570 | 2,194,770 | 2,199,830 | 2,299,100 | 2,314,150 | 2,330,700 | 2,418,880 | 2,348,360 | 2,531,710 | 2,553,490 | 2,567,010 | 2,719,610 | 2,567,360 | 3,029,250 | 3,047,660 |
| Total stockholders’ equity | US$ in thousands | -368,576 | -125,109 | -75,487 | 59,964 | 60,653 | -8,276 | 44,154 | 92,882 | 112,632 | 48,663 | 53,370 | 19,163 | 70,621 | 79,125 | 44,580 | 29,430 | 289,154 | 25,412 | 52,972 | 86,450 |
| Return on total capital | -17.81% | -3.85% | -2.89% | 4.77% | 5.82% | 5.65% | 5.42% | 6.64% | 3.51% | 4.52% | 4.78% | 4.30% | -2.79% | 3.45% | 1.99% | 2.59% | 9.72% | 5.94% | 8.36% | 9.15% |
December 31, 2023 calculation
Return on total capital = EBIT (ttm) ÷ (Long-term debt + Total stockholders’ equity)
= $-306,057K ÷ ($2,087,100K + $-368,576K)
= -17.81%
Pitney Bowes, Inc.'s return on total capital has displayed a declining trend over the past few quarters, indicating a decrease in the efficiency of capital utilization. In Q1 2022, the return on total capital stood at 6.61%, which relatively decreased to 4.69% in Q4 2023. The company's ability to generate returns on the total capital employed has been fluctuating, with Q3 and Q4 of 2022 showing stable figures around 5.79%.
The decreasing trend in return on total capital may suggest that Pitney Bowes is facing challenges in generating sufficient profits relative to the total capital invested in the business. This could be a signal of inefficiencies in the company's operations or challenges in generating revenue to cover the capital employed. It may be important for the company to evaluate and potentially optimize its capital allocation strategies and operational efficiency to improve this key financial metric in the future.