The Returns At Domino's Pizza Enterprises (ASX:DMP) Aren't Growing

Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. That's why when we briefly looked at Domino's Pizza Enterprises' (ASX:DMP) ROCE trend, we were pretty happy with what we saw.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. The formula for this calculation on Domino's Pizza Enterprises is:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.15 = AU$260m ÷ (AU$2.5b - AU$703m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to January 2022).

So, Domino's Pizza Enterprises has an ROCE of 15%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Hospitality industry average of 8.4% it's much better.

See our latest analysis for Domino's Pizza Enterprises

In the above chart we have measured Domino's Pizza Enterprises' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

So How Is Domino's Pizza Enterprises' ROCE Trending?

While the current returns on capital are decent, they haven't changed much. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 15% and the business has deployed 102% more capital into its operations. Since 15% is a moderate ROCE though, it's good to see a business can continue to reinvest at these decent rates of return. Over long periods of time, returns like these might not be too exciting, but with consistency they can pay off in terms of share price returns.

Our Take On Domino's Pizza Enterprises' ROCE

To sum it up, Domino's Pizza Enterprises has simply been reinvesting capital steadily, at those decent rates of return. And the stock has followed suit returning a meaningful 43% to shareholders over the last five years. So while the positive underlying trends may be accounted for by investors, we still think this stock is worth looking into further.

On a separate note, we've found 1 warning sign for Domino's Pizza Enterprises you'll probably want to know about.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.