What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at SOL (BIT:SOL) so let's look a bit deeper.
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. To calculate this metric for SOL, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.11 = €108m ÷ (€1.3b - €266m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).
So, SOL has an ROCE of 11%. That's a relatively normal return on capital, and it's around the 9.1% generated by the Chemicals industry.
See our latest analysis for SOL
Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for SOL's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you'd like to look at how SOL 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
The trends we've noticed at SOL are quite reassuring. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 11%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 35%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.
In Conclusion...
All in all, it's terrific to see that SOL is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. Since the stock has returned a solid 78% to shareholders over the last five years, it's fair to say investors are beginning to recognize these changes. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if SOL can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.
One more thing, we've spotted 1 warning sign facing SOL that you might find interesting.
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. 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.
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About BIT:SOL
SOL
Engages in the applied research, production, and marketing of technical and medical gases in Italy and internationally.
Flawless balance sheet with moderate growth potential.
