Westlake Chemical Corporation (WLK)
Return on total capital
| Dec 31, 2024 | Sep 30, 2024 | Jun 30, 2024 | Mar 31, 2024 | 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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) (ttm) | US$ in thousands | 963,000 | 370,000 | 585,000 | 539,000 | 822,000 | 1,681,000 | 1,815,000 | 2,583,000 | 3,073,000 | 3,615,000 | 3,947,000 | 3,486,000 | 2,798,000 | 2,104,000 | 1,322,000 | 642,000 | 430,000 | 345,000 | 505,000 | 655,000 |
| Long-term debt | US$ in thousands | 4,556,000 | 4,616,000 | 4,585,000 | 4,590,000 | 4,607,000 | 4,574,000 | 4,894,000 | 4,892,000 | 4,879,000 | 4,813,000 | 4,858,000 | 4,902,000 | 4,911,000 | 4,929,000 | 3,555,000 | 3,547,000 | 3,566,000 | 3,681,000 | 3,745,000 | 4,432,000 |
| Total stockholders’ equity | US$ in thousands | 10,527,000 | 10,662,000 | 10,574,000 | 10,331,000 | 10,241,000 | 10,754,000 | 10,544,000 | 10,291,000 | 9,931,000 | 9,621,000 | 9,404,000 | 8,681,000 | 7,955,000 | 7,298,000 | 6,771,000 | 6,261,000 | 6,043,000 | 5,949,000 | 5,901,000 | 5,893,000 |
| Return on total capital | 6.38% | 2.42% | 3.86% | 3.61% | 5.54% | 10.97% | 11.76% | 17.01% | 20.75% | 25.05% | 27.67% | 25.66% | 21.75% | 17.21% | 12.80% | 6.55% | 4.47% | 3.58% | 5.24% | 6.34% |
December 31, 2024 calculation
Return on total capital = EBIT (ttm) ÷ (Long-term debt + Total stockholders’ equity)
= $963,000K ÷ ($4,556,000K + $10,527,000K)
= 6.38%
The return on total capital for Westlake Chemical Corporation has shown fluctuations over the past few years. It was relatively stable around the 5-6% range in 2020, but started to improve significantly from March 2021 onwards, reaching a peak of 27.67% in June 2022. However, there was a slight decline in the subsequent quarters, with the return on total capital dropping to 2.42% by September 2024 before rebounding to 6.38% by December 2024. Overall, the trend indicates that the company's ability to generate returns on its invested capital has been volatile, with periods of strong performance followed by periods of lower returns.
Peer comparison
Dec 31, 2024