Investors Will Want BQE Water's (CVE:BQE) Growth In ROCE To Persist

There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. So on that note, BQE Water (CVE:BQE) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on BQE Water is:

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

0.0095 = CA$134k ÷ (CA$16m - CA$2.0m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

So, BQE Water has an ROCE of 1.0%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Commercial Services industry average of 7.7%.

See our latest analysis for BQE Water

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you're interested in investigating BQE Water's past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

So How Is BQE Water's ROCE Trending?

BQE Water has recently broken into profitability so their prior investments seem to be paying off. The company was generating losses five years ago, but now it's earning 1.0% which is a sight for sore eyes. In addition to that, BQE Water is employing 244% more capital than previously which is expected of a company that's trying to break into profitability. This can tell us that the company has plenty of reinvestment opportunities that are able to generate higher returns.

In another part of our analysis, we noticed that the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets decreased to 12%, which broadly means the business is relying less on its suppliers or short-term creditors to fund its operations. Therefore we can rest assured that the growth in ROCE is a result of the business' fundamental improvements, rather than a cooking class featuring this company's books.

In Conclusion...

In summary, it's great to see that BQE Water has managed to break into profitability and is continuing to reinvest in its business. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.

On a final note, we found 3 warning signs for BQE Water (1 is significant) you should be aware of.

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.