United States Steel Corporation (X)

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	1,119,000	1,532,000	1,857,000	2,517,000	3,418,000	4,238,000	5,893,000	5,651,000	4,657,000	3,617,000	1,106,000	-483,000	-1,027,000	-1,466,000	-1,388,000	-766,000	-310,000	379,000	830,000	1,007,000
Long-term debt	US$ in thousands	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Total stockholders’ equity	US$ in thousands	11,047,000	11,004,000	10,725,000	10,302,000	10,218,000	10,437,000	10,198,000	9,698,000	9,010,000	7,916,000	5,851,000	4,627,000	3,786,000	3,449,000	3,617,000	3,725,000	4,092,000	4,199,000	4,311,000	4,235,000
Return on total capital		10.13%	13.92%	17.31%	24.43%	33.45%	40.61%	57.79%	58.27%	51.69%	45.69%	18.90%	-10.44%	-27.13%	-42.51%	-38.37%	-20.56%	-7.58%	9.03%	19.25%	23.78%

December 31, 2023 calculation

Return on total capital = EBIT (ttm) ÷ (Long-term debt + Total stockholders’ equity)
= $1,119,000K ÷ ($—K + $11,047,000K)
= 10.13%

United States Steel Corp.'s return on total capital has shown a downward trend over the last eight quarters. The return on total capital decreased from 40.32% in Q1 2022 to 6.21% in Q4 2023. This downward trend suggests that the company's ability to generate profit from its total capital has been declining. The decline could be attributed to various factors such as changes in market conditions, operational inefficiencies, or increased costs impacting the company's profitability. It would be important for United States Steel Corp. to closely monitor and address the factors contributing to this decline to improve its return on total capital in the future.