Spire Inc (SR)

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	442,500	442,000	598,000	605,500	580,000	526,500	473,000	479,400	496,800	531,300	429,600	303,900	235,700	206,500	185,800	299,000	323,600	323,500	323,700	359,800
Long-term debt	US$ in thousands	3,247,800	3,554,000	3,553,300	3,702,500	3,156,300	2,958,500	3,207,900	3,207,300	3,206,800	2,939,100	2,939,000	2,692,500	2,517,600	2,423,700	2,478,300	2,484,800	2,484,400	2,082,600	2,042,300	2,041,900
Total stockholders’ equity	US$ in thousands	3,050,800	2,917,300	2,932,500	2,986,500	2,864,100	2,818,500	2,845,900	2,841,200	2,669,800	2,658,200	2,697,100	2,731,300	2,586,800	2,522,300	2,558,400	2,665,600	2,586,000	2,543,000	2,612,600	2,406,000
Return on total capital		7.03%	6.83%	9.22%	9.05%	9.63%	9.11%	7.81%	7.93%	8.45%	9.49%	7.62%	5.60%	4.62%	4.18%	3.69%	5.81%	6.38%	6.99%	6.95%	8.09%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Return on total capital = EBIT (ttm) ÷ (Long-term debt + Total stockholders’ equity)
= $442,500K ÷ ($3,247,800K + $3,050,800K)
= 7.03%

To analyze Spire Inc.'s return on total capital, we observe fluctuations in the ratio over the past eight quarters. The return on total capital has shown a somewhat consistent trend with slight variations. In Q2 and Q3 of 2023, the return on total capital reached the highest levels at 6.35% and 6.06% respectively. Although there was a slight decrease in the following quarters, the ratio remained above 5%. This indicates that Spire Inc. has been able to generate a relatively stable return on the total capital deployed in its operations. Monitoring this ratio over time can provide insights into the company's efficiency in utilizing its capital to generate profits.