To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. With that in mind, the ROCE of Objective (ASX:OCL) looks attractive right now, so lets see what the trend of returns can tell us.
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. The formula for this calculation on Objective is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.34 = AU$41m ÷ (AU$194m - AU$74m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2025).
So, Objective has an ROCE of 34%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 14% earned by companies in a similar industry.
See our latest analysis for Objective
In the above chart we have measured Objective's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free analyst report for Objective .
What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us
In terms of Objective's history of ROCE, it's quite impressive. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 34% and the business has deployed 156% more capital into its operations. With returns that high, it's great that the business can continually reinvest its money at such appealing rates of return. If Objective can keep this up, we'd be very optimistic about its future.
One more thing to note, even though ROCE has remained relatively flat over the last five years, the reduction in current liabilities to 38% of total assets, is good to see from a business owner's perspective. Effectively suppliers now fund less of the business, which can lower some elements of risk.
The Bottom Line On Objective's ROCE
In short, we'd argue Objective has the makings of a multi-bagger since its been able to compound its capital at very profitable rates of return. And since the stock has risen strongly over the last five years, it appears the market might expect this trend to continue. So even though the stock might be more "expensive" than it was before, we think the strong fundamentals warrant this stock for further research.
On the other side of ROCE, we have to consider valuation. That's why we have a FREE intrinsic value estimation for OCL on our platform that is definitely worth checking out.
Objective is not the only stock earning high returns. If you'd like to see more, check out our free list of companies earning high returns on equity with solid fundamentals.
Valuation is complex, but we're here to simplify it.
Discover if Objective might be undervalued or overvalued with our detailed analysis, featuring fair value estimates, potential risks, dividends, insider trades, and its financial condition.
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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.