Benzinga | Mar 16, 2021 12:25PM EDT

Return On Capital Employed Overview: OptimizeRx

OptimizeRx (NASDAQ:OPRX) posted a 867.57% decrease in earnings from Q3. Sales, however, increased by 56.16% over the previous quarter to $16.43 million. Despite the increase in sales this quarter, the decrease in earnings may suggest OptimizeRx is not utilizing their capital as effectively as possible. In Q3, OptimizeRx brought in $10.52 million in sales but lost $176.72 thousand in earnings.

Why ROCE Is Significant

Changes in earnings and sales indicate shifts in OptimizeRx's Return on Capital Employed, a measure of yearly pre-tax profit relative to capital employed by a business. Generally, a higher ROCE suggests successful growth of a company and is a sign of higher earnings per share in the future. In Q4, OptimizeRx posted an ROCE of 0.03%.

It is important to keep in mind ROCE evaluates past performance and is not used as a predictive tool. It is a good measure of a company's recent performance, but several factors could affect earnings and 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 OptimizeRx's case, the positive ROCE ratio will be something investors pay attention to before making long-term financial decisions.

Q4 Earnings Recap

OptimizeRx reported Q4 earnings per share at $0.16/share, which beat analyst predictions of $0.15/share.