Sysco Corp. (NYSE:SYY)

Return on Assets (ROA)

The Return on Assets exhibited no available data until March 30, 2019, at which point it registered 9.32%. Following this, a slight decline occurred, reaching 6.7% by June 29, 2019, and a significant drop to negative territory appeared by September 26, 2020, bottoming out at -1.5%. Subsequently, the ROA demonstrated a recovery trend, consistently rising through 2021 and 2022, reaching peaks above 7% by the end of 2023. The data shows a slight dip to 7.85% as of June 29, 2024, indicating a generally positive upward trajectory after the mid-2020 downturn.

Financial Leverage

Financial Leverage showed some fluctuations throughout the time periods. It began at moderate levels near 7.03 in September 2018 and rose notably to a peak of 19.53 in June 2020, reflecting increased use of debt or assets relative to equity during that period. This peak was followed by a generally declining trend, reaching a trough of approximately 10.29 in March 2024 before slightly rising again to 13.4 by June 29, 2024. The variation implies periods of heightened borrowing or asset deployment, with a tapering back toward more moderate leverage ratios in recent quarters.

Return on Equity (ROE)

The Return on Equity displayed a strong positive performance from March 30, 2019, starting at approximately 66.9%, with an increasing trend through 2019 and early 2020. However, it sharply declined into negative territory by September 26, 2020, bottoming at -23.66%. Following this trough, the ROE exhibited a robust recovery and growth pattern, rising substantially through 2021 and 2022, peaking at 129.68% in December 31, 2022. Despite some volatility, it maintained high levels above 85% into mid-2024. This pattern indicates a period of significant financial difficulty or losses during mid-2020, followed by strong profitability and efficient equity management thereafter.

The analysis of the quarterly financial data reveals several noteworthy trends across the reported periods.

Net Profit Margin

The net profit margin shows an initial modest increase from 2.79% to a peak of 3% during mid-2019, followed by a sharp decline reaching negative values between late 2019 and early 2021. This period features the lowest points, with margins falling below zero. From early 2021 onward, the margin recovers steadily, displaying a consistent upward trend that stabilizes around 2.3% to 2.7% by mid-2024, indicating improved profitability over time.

Asset Turnover

Asset turnover experiences a general decline from 3.35 in the third quarter of 2019 to a low of 2.0 in mid-2020. After this trough, a gradual and steady recovery is observed, rising to approximately 3.3 by late 2023 and stabilizing thereafter. This pattern suggests a temporary reduction in efficiency in utilizing assets to generate revenue during the 2020 period, followed by recovery and enhanced operational efficiency subsequently.

Financial Leverage

Financial leverage shows significant variation over the period. Initially ranging around 7.0 to 8.4, leverage spikes sharply from early 2020 reaching a high of 19.53 in the second quarter of 2020. Following this peak, leverage fluctuates between 10 and 20 with notable volatility, and then trends downward gradually from 19.91 in late 2022 to around 13.4 by mid-2024. This indicates increased reliance on debt or liabilities during the early pandemic phase, followed by some deleveraging and stabilization in capital structure in recent periods.

Return on Equity (ROE)

The return on equity exhibits extreme volatility. ROE increases steadily from 66.9% to a peak of 71.73% by early 2020, then declines precipitously into negative territory, reaching as low as -23.66% in the fourth quarter of 2020. This substantial drop indicates significant losses or declines in returns for shareholders during this time. From early 2021 onwards, ROE demonstrates a strong recovery, ascending sharply to an exceptional 129.68% in early 2023 before moderating slightly but remaining high above 85% through mid-2024. This trend reflects both the impact of adverse conditions around 2020 and a robust financial turnaround driving high shareholder returns afterwards.

Overall, the data reflects a period of disruption around 2020 characterized by declines in profitability, efficiency, and returns, accompanied by increased financial leverage. Post-2020, there is a clear recovery trend with improved profit margins, asset utilization, reduced leverage, and substantially increased returns on equity, indicating a strong financial rebound and enhanced operational performance.

The analysis of the financial ratios over multiple quarters reveals distinctive trends across profitability, efficiency, leverage, and overall returns to equity.

Tax Burden

The tax burden ratio has remained relatively stable around the 0.7 to 0.8 range since 2019, demonstrating consistent tax obligations relative to pre-tax income. Slight decreases are noted toward the latter periods, shifting from approximately 0.83 in early 2019 to around 0.76 by mid-2024.

Interest Burden

This ratio shows significant volatility. From values near 0.85 in 2019, the ratio sharply declined between late 2019 and early 2021, even entering negative territory, indicating potential negative interest impact or exceptional items during that period. From mid-2021 onward, a recovery trend is observed, steadily climbing back to approximately 0.81 by mid-2024, suggesting improved interest management or decreased interest expenses relative to EBIT.

EBIT Margin

The operating profitability margin experienced a notable dip between late 2019 and early 2021, falling from around 4% to below 1%, with a low near 0.25%, likely reflecting operational challenges or external pressures. However, a clear recovery trajectory is apparent from 2021, steadily increasing to above 4% by mid-2024, which indicates a restoration of operating efficiency and profitability.

Asset Turnover

The asset turnover ratio, indicative of efficiency in utilizing assets to generate revenue, declined from about 3.35 in 2019 down to around 2.0 by late 2020, suggesting decreased efficiency or asset base expansion not fully leveraged. Subsequent quarters show progressive improvement, reaching values about 3.16 by mid-2024, nearing levels observed before the decline, implying a rebound in asset utilization efficiency.

Financial Leverage

The financial leverage ratio exhibits considerable fluctuations, initially ranging around 7 to 8 in 2018-2019, then spiking dramatically in 2020 to nearly 20, reflecting an increased reliance on debt or larger equity base contraction during that period. This high leverage persists with some variability through 2022, followed by a moderate downward trend toward a ratio near 13 by mid-2024, indicating some deleveraging or stabilization in capital structure.

Return on Equity (ROE)

The ROE metric displays extreme volatility. Initially high with percentages exceeding 60% through 2019, ROE plunged sharply into negative territory between late 2019 and early 2021, reaching lows beyond -20%, suggesting substantial losses or equity erosion in those quarters. Subsequently, a strong recovery occurs, with ROE rebounding to levels well above 80% from 2022 onward and peaking near 130% before settling near 105% by mid-2024. This pattern underscores a marked recovery in net profitability relative to shareholders' equity.

In totality, the data depicts a period of financial distress or operational difficulties concentrated around 2020 to early 2021, characterized by deteriorations in interest burden, EBIT margin, asset turnover, and ROE, coupled with elevated financial leverage. Post-2021 measures show progressive improvements across all key metrics, indicating a recovery phase with enhanced operational efficiency, reduced financial strain, and improved profitability and returns to equity holders.

Net Profit Margin

The net profit margin data reveals fluctuating profitability over the observed periods. Initially, profit margins hovered around 2.79% to 3.00% in late 2018 and early 2019. A significant decline occurred starting mid-2019, dropping to near zero or slightly negative values during the middle of 2020, reflecting potential operational challenges or external impacts during that time frame. From early 2021 onward, net profit margin gradually improved, stabilizing between approximately 1.0% and 2.7%, indicating a recovery trend and improved cost management or revenue generation. The latest values in 2024 show consistent margins around 2.5%, suggesting regained profitability strength.

Asset Turnover

Asset turnover ratios remained relatively high from late 2018 through early 2019, starting above 3.3 and declining steadily to about 2.0 by late 2020. This reduction indicates a slowdown in the efficiency with which assets generated revenue during the latter period, potentially due to decreased sales or increased asset base without proportional revenue growth. However, from early 2021 onwards, asset turnover improved consistently, reaching peaks above 3.3 in late 2022 and maintaining levels slightly above 3.1 through mid-2024. This recovery signals enhanced operational efficiency and better utilization of assets in generating sales.

Return on Assets (ROA)

Return on assets displayed a similar trajectory to net profit margin. Starting at robust levels around 9.3% in late 2018 and early 2019, ROA sharply declined throughout 2019 and into 2020, reaching negative values, which indicates that asset utilization was not generating sufficient profits during that period. Beginning in early 2021, ROA values showed a steady and meaningful recovery, climbing from 2.45% up to over 8.4% by 2023. While there is a slight decrease toward mid-2024, the overall trend reflects improved profitability relative to asset levels, aligning with the recovery observed in profit margins and asset turnover.

The analyzed financial ratios and margins exhibit significant variations across the reported periods, reflecting changes in operational efficiency, profitability, and financial burden management.

Tax Burden

The tax burden ratio shows a relatively stable pattern from the first reported value in September 2019 through June 2024, fluctuating narrowly between 0.73 and 0.9. The ratio peaked at 0.9 in July 2021 and subsequently maintained a steady decline, settling around 0.76 in the latest quarters. This suggests a consistent tax impact on earnings over the periods with no extreme volatility.

Interest Burden

The interest burden ratio presented more pronounced fluctuations. Initial values in late 2019 and early 2020 ranged around 0.85 but experienced a sharp decline starting June 2020, reaching negative values indicative of unusual financial costs or potentially non-operating expenses affecting earnings. The lowest points occurred during mid-2020 to late 2020, with ratios as low as -3.66. From early 2021 onward, the interest burden shows a recovery trend, gradually increasing to values around 0.81 by mid-2024. This pattern indicates a period of financial stress or restructuring followed by stabilization.

EBIT Margin

The EBIT margin percentage exhibits a generally positive trend with some volatility. Initially steady around 3.9% to 4.16% in 2019, it declined significantly during mid to late 2020, reaching lows near 0.25%. Recovery began in early 2021, with margins improving consistently to exceed 4% by early 2024. This reflects an initial profitability squeeze, likely due to increased costs or reduced revenues, followed by effective operational recovery and margin improvement.

Asset Turnover

Asset turnover ratios indicate the efficiency with which assets are utilized to generate sales. From 2019 to mid-2020, a steady decline occurred, dropping from over 3.3 to approximately 2.0, suggesting reduced asset utilization efficiency during this period. From late 2020 onward, a gradual recovery is observed, with turnover ratios returning to around 3.16 by mid-2024. This trend points to operational adjustments post-disruption that restored asset productivity.

Return on Assets (ROA)

The ROA percentage follows a trajectory aligned with the EBIT margin and asset turnover trends. Initially robust around 9.3% in 2019, it sharply fell into negative territory during mid to late 2020, correlating with the decline in asset turnover and interest burden anomalies. From early 2021, ROA improved progressively, surpassing 8% by early 2024, indicating restored profitability relative to total assets.

Overall, the data reflects a period of significant operational and financial challenges occurring primarily around mid-2020, characterized by deteriorating profitability, financial burdens, and asset utilization. This was followed by a marked recovery phase evidenced by improving margins, burden ratios, turnover, and asset returns, suggesting successful strategic or operational responses to previous adversities.

Tax Burden

The tax burden ratio demonstrates relative stability over the observed periods, mostly oscillating around values between 0.76 and 0.83. There is a slight downward trend visible from late 2021 through mid-2024, suggesting a marginal decrease in the proportion of pre-tax income paid as taxes.

Interest Burden

The interest burden ratio shows significant volatility. Beginning at approximately 0.85 through early 2019, it sharply declines starting mid-2019, hitting negative values as low as -3.66 during 2020, indicating periods of high interest expenses or financial strain. A recovery trend begins post-2020, with the ratio gradually increasing toward 0.81 by mid-2024, reflecting an improvement in interest expense management or decreased interest costs relative to earnings.

EBIT Margin

The EBIT margin exhibits marked fluctuations during the timeline. From a stable range around 3.9% to 4.2% from late 2018 to mid-2019, it declines sharply to approximately 0.25% by early 2020, likely reflecting operational challenges. Following this trough, the margin recovers steadily, surpassing previous levels by early 2024, with values around 4.0%, indicating improved operational profitability over the more recent periods.

Net Profit Margin

Net profit margin mirrors the patterns observed in EBIT margin but presents even greater sensitivity. Starting near 2.8% in late 2018, it declines substantially to negative territory in 2020, reflecting losses in certain quarters. A gradual recovery ensues post-2020, with margins rising above 2.5% by early to mid-2024. This trend suggests a restoration of net profitability following the downturn, though levels remain slightly below the highest points noted at the beginning of the data series.