Baby Bunting Group (ASX:BBN) Is Looking To Continue Growing Its Returns On Capital

If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? 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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. So on that note, Baby Bunting Group (ASX:BBN) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Baby Bunting Group, this is the formula:

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

0.16 = AU$32m ÷ (AU$296m - AU$90m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

So, Baby Bunting Group has an ROCE of 16%. In isolation, that's a pretty standard return but against the Specialty Retail industry average of 20%, it's not as good.

Check out our latest analysis for Baby Bunting Group

In the above chart we have measured Baby Bunting Group's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Baby Bunting Group here for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Baby Bunting Group Tell Us?

Investors would be pleased with what's happening at Baby Bunting Group. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 16%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 115% more capital is being employed now too. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, a combination that's common among multi-baggers.

In Conclusion...

To sum it up, Baby Bunting Group has proven it can reinvest in the business and generate higher returns on that capital employed, which is terrific. And a remarkable 179% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

On a final note, we've found 1 warning sign for Baby Bunting Group that we think you should be aware of.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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