We Like These Underlying Return On Capital Trends At Pulse Oil (CVE:PUL)

What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So when we looked at Pulse Oil (CVE:PUL) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Pulse Oil:

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

0.02 = CA$575k ÷ (CA$31m - CA$1.8m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2023).

Therefore, Pulse Oil has an ROCE of 2.0%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Oil and Gas industry average of 14%.

Check out our latest analysis for Pulse Oil

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Pulse Oil's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you'd like to look at how Pulse Oil has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Pulse Oil has recently broken into profitability so their prior investments seem to be paying off. Shareholders would no doubt be pleased with this because the business was loss-making five years ago but is is now generating 2.0% on its capital. In addition to that, Pulse Oil is employing 198% 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.

Our Take On Pulse Oil's ROCE

To the delight of most shareholders, Pulse Oil has now broken into profitability. Although the company may be facing some issues elsewhere since the stock has plunged 87% in the last five years. In any case, we believe the economic trends of this company are positive and looking into the stock further could prove rewarding.

If you want to know some of the risks facing Pulse Oil we've found 5 warning signs (2 don't sit too well with us!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high 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.