Returns On Capital At Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) Have Stalled

Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. 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, when we ran our eye over Ashtead Group's (LON:AHT) trend of ROCE, we liked what we saw.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Ashtead Group:

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

0.14 = US$2.7b ÷ (US$21b - US$1.9b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to October 2023).

Therefore, Ashtead Group has an ROCE of 14%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty normal return, and it's somewhat close to the Trade Distributors industry average of 15%.

Check out our latest analysis for Ashtead Group

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Ashtead Group compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Ashtead Group Tell Us?

While the current returns on capital are decent, they haven't changed much. The company has consistently earned 14% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 101% in that time. Since 14% is a moderate ROCE though, it's good to see a business can continue to reinvest at these decent rates of return. Over long periods of time, returns like these might not be too exciting, but with consistency they can pay off in terms of share price returns.

The Bottom Line On Ashtead Group's ROCE

In the end, Ashtead Group has proven its ability to adequately reinvest capital at good rates of return. And the stock has done incredibly well with a 178% return over the last five years, so long term investors are no doubt ecstatic with that result. 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 a separate note, we've found 1 warning sign for Ashtead Group you'll probably want to know about.

While Ashtead Group may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.