We Like These Underlying Return On Capital Trends At Stella-Jones (TSE:SJ)

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount 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 when we looked at Stella-Jones (TSE:SJ) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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 Stella-Jones:

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

0.14 = CA$517m ÷ (CA$3.9b - CA$298m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

Therefore, Stella-Jones has an ROCE of 14%. That's a pretty standard return and it's in line with the industry average of 14%.

View our latest analysis for Stella-Jones

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Stella-Jones compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Stella-Jones for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Stella-Jones Tell Us?

Investors would be pleased with what's happening at Stella-Jones. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 14%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 72% 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.

Our Take On Stella-Jones' ROCE

In summary, it's great to see that Stella-Jones can compound returns by consistently reinvesting capital at increasing rates of return, because these are some of the key ingredients of those highly sought after multi-baggers. And a remarkable 108% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

Stella-Jones does come with some risks though, we found 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is concerning...

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.