BXB share price in focus
Brambles operates the world’s largest pool of reusable pallets, crates, and containers, providing essential support to global supply chains.
The company is best known for its CHEP brand, which operates across the Asia-Pacific, Americas, and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regions.
Brambles generates revenue through a hiring model: manufacturers use CHEP pallets to transport products to retailers, who then return the pallets to CHEP or pass them on to others within the supply chain. At each stage, Brambles earns daily hire fees for its pallets and crates.
The key metrics
For investors, BXB’s revenue, gross margin, and profit can provide valuable insights into the company’s performance.
BXB last reported an annual revenue of $6,744m with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the last 3 years of 7.6% per year. While the absolute number is useful to know, the key point is the trend. We want to see a consistent, upward trajectory in revenue.
Gross margin measures profitability before taking into account overhead costs – it reflects the strength of the company’s core business operations. BXB’s latest reported gross margin stood at 34.5%.
Finally, the number we’re most interested in – profit. Last financial year Brambles Ltd reported a profit of $780m. Three years ago they made a profit of $523m, representing a CAGR of 14.3%.
Financial health of BXB shares
Profitability is important, but equally important is the capital health of the company. We want to know about the company’s leverage, their capacity to pay debts, and their ability to generate a return on assets. One measure we can look at is net debt. This is simply the total debt minus the company’s cash holdings.
Brambles Ltd’s net debt currently sits at $2,528m. Higher debt levels can increase sensitivity to interest rate changes and economic cycles.
Another figure we can look at is the debt/equity percentage. This tells us how much debt the company has relative to shareholder equity – this is also known as leverage. BXB has more equity than debt, with a debt/equity ratio of 81.8%.
Finally, we can look at the return on equity (ROE). The ROE tells us how efficiently the company is turning shareholder equity into profit – high numbers indicate the company is generating a lot of value for investors, while a low number raises concerns that capital isn’t necessarily being allocated efficiently. BXB generated an ROE of 25.6% in FY24.
What to make of BXB shares?
BXB has a solid ROE and profits are trending upwards, so it could be a company worth keeping an eye on in 2025. However, revenue growth has been low.
Please keep in mind this should only be the beginning of your research. It’s important to get a good grasp of the company’s financials and compare it to its peers. It’s also important to make sure the company is priced fairly. To learn more about share price valuation, you can sign up for one of our many free online investing courses.
