Why We Like The Returns At Computacenter (LON:CCC)

If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding 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 the ROCE trend of Computacenter (LON:CCC) 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 Computacenter:

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

0.25 = UK£259m ÷ (UK£3.3b - UK£2.2b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

So, Computacenter has an ROCE of 25%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the IT industry average of 11%.

Check out our latest analysis for Computacenter

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Computacenter 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.

SWOT Analysis for Computacenter

The Trend Of ROCE

Computacenter is displaying some positive trends. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 25%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 103%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

On a side note, Computacenter's current liabilities are still rather high at 68% of total assets. This can bring about some risks because the company is basically operating with a rather large reliance on its suppliers or other sorts of short-term creditors. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be beneficial if this ratio is lower.

The Key Takeaway

In summary, it's great to see that Computacenter 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 with a respectable 62% awarded to those who held the stock over the last five years, you could argue that these developments are starting to get the attention they deserve. 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.

Computacenter does have some risks though, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Computacenter that you might be interested in.

If you'd like to see other companies earning high returns, check out our free list of companies earning high returns with solid balance sheets 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.