ROCE Insights For Altria Group

Altria Group MO posted a 80.06% decrease in earnings from Q2. Sales, however, increased by 12.17% over the previous quarter to $5.68 billion. Despite the increase in sales this quarter, the decrease in earnings may suggest Altria Group is not utilizing their capital as effectively as possible. In Q2, Altria Group earned $2.82 billion and total sales reached $5.06 billion.

What Is ROCE?

Return on Capital Employed is a measure of yearly pre-tax profit relative to capital employed by a business. Changes in earnings and sales indicate shifts in a company's ROCE. A higher ROCE is generally representative of successful growth of a company and is a sign of higher earnings per share in the future. A low or negative ROCE suggests the opposite. In Q3, Altria Group posted an ROCE of 0.17%.

Keep in mind, while ROCE is a good measure of a company's recent performance, it is not a highly reliable predictor of a company's earnings or sales in the near future.

Return on Capital Employed is an important measurement of efficiency and a useful tool when comparing companies that operate in the same industry. A relatively high ROCE indicates a company may be generating profits that can be reinvested into more capital, leading to higher returns and growing EPS for shareholders.

In Altria Group's case, the positive ROCE ratio will be something investors pay attention to before making long-term financial decisions.

Q3 Earnings Recap

Altria Group reported Q3 earnings per share at $1.19/share, which beat analyst predictions of $1.16/share.