How Does Coca-Cola Boost Its Returns?

Jim Royal, The Motley Fool
Updated

As investors, we need to understand how our companies truly make their money. A neat trick developed for just that purpose -- the DuPont formula -- can help us do so.

The DuPont formula can give you a better grasp on exactly where your company is producing its profit, and where it might have a competitive advantage. Named after the company where it was pioneered, the formula breaks down return on equity into three components:

Return on equity = net margin x asset turnover x leverage ratio

What makes each of these components important?

  • High net margins show that a company can get customers to pay more for its products. Luxury-goods companies provide a great example here.

  • High asset turnover indicates that a company needs to invest less of its capital, since it uses its assets more efficiently to generate sales. Service industries, for instance, often lack big capital investments.

  • Finally, the leverage ratio shows how much the company is relying on liabilities to create its profits.

Generally, the higher these numbers, the better. That said, too much debt can sink a company, so beware of companies with very high leverage ratios.

Let's see what the DuPont formula can tell us about Coca-Cola (NYS: KO) and a few of its sector and industry peers:

Coca-Cola

41.3%

27.6%

0.68

2.20

Hansen Natural (NAS: HANS)

32.0%

16.8%

1.44

1.32

PepsiCo (NYS: PEP)

29.0%

9.9%

0.91

3.21

Cott (NYS: COT)

12.4%

2.8%

1.52

2.75

Source: S&P Capital IQ.

Coca-Cola leads this group, notching a stellar ROE on the strength of a very high net margin and despite having the lowest asset turnover here. Its closest peer, PepsiCo, manages a much lower, but still substantial, ROE. To drive ROE, Pepsi relies more on higher leverage and asset turnover than margin. Hansen ekes out second place by focusing on higher asset turnover and margin, even while using minimal leverage. And Cott, despite focusing on high asset turnover and leverage, puts up a middling ROE, thanks to a low net margin.

Using the DuPont formula can often give you some insight into how a company is competing against peers and what type of strategy it's using to juice return on equity. To find more successful investments, dig deeper than the earnings headlines.

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At the time thisarticle was published We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors.Jim Royal, Ph.D.,does not own shares in any company mentioned.The Motley Fool owns shares of PepsiCo and Coca-Cola.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Coca-Cola, Hansen Natural, and PepsiCo.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended creating a diagonal call position in PepsiCo. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

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