Returns On Capital At IDP (KOSDAQ:332370) Have Hit The Brakes

To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. With that in mind, the ROCE of IDP (KOSDAQ:332370) looks decent, right now, so lets see what the trend of returns can tell us.

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What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. The formula for this calculation on IDP is:

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

0.18 = ₩11b ÷ (₩68b - ₩6.4b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2025).

Thus, IDP has an ROCE of 18%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Tech industry average of 4.3% it's much better.

View our latest analysis for IDP

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you want to delve into the historical earnings , check out these free graphs detailing revenue and cash flow performance of IDP.

What Does the ROCE Trend For IDP Tell Us?

While the current returns on capital are decent, they haven't changed much. The company has employed 147% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 18%. Since 18% is a moderate ROCE though, it's good to see a business can continue to reinvest at these decent rates of return. Stable returns in this ballpark can be unexciting, but if they can be maintained over the long run, they often provide nice rewards to shareholders.

The Bottom Line

The main thing to remember is that IDP has proven its ability to continually reinvest at respectable rates of return. Despite the good fundamentals, total returns from the stock have been virtually flat over the last five years. For that reason, savvy investors might want to look further into this company in case it's a prime investment.

Like most companies, IDP does come with some risks, and we've found 2 warning signs that you should be aware of.

While IDP 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.