Should You Be Impressed By Nippon Information Development's (TYO:2349) Returns on Capital?

If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. That's why when we briefly looked at Nippon Information Development's (TYO:2349) ROCE trend, we were pretty happy with what we saw.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Nippon Information Development:

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

0.12 = JP¥2.0b ÷ (JP¥20b - JP¥2.5b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

Thus, Nippon Information Development has an ROCE of 12%. In isolation, that's a pretty standard return but against the IT industry average of 15%, it's not as good.

See our latest analysis for Nippon Information Development

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

What Can We Tell From Nippon Information Development's ROCE Trend?

The trend of ROCE doesn't stand out much, but returns on a whole are decent. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 12% and the business has deployed 53% more capital into its operations. 12% is a pretty standard return, and it provides some comfort knowing that Nippon Information Development has consistently earned this amount. 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.

Our Take On Nippon Information Development's ROCE

To sum it up, Nippon Information Development has simply been reinvesting capital steadily, at those decent rates of return. And long term investors would be thrilled with the 133% return they've received over the last five years. So while investors seem to be recognizing these promising trends, we still believe the stock deserves further research.

While Nippon Information Development doesn't shine too bright in this respect, it's still worth seeing if the company is trading at attractive prices. You can find that out with our FREE intrinsic value estimation on our platform.

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. 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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