Wal-Mart de México. de (BMV:WALMEX) Might Become A Compounding Machine

To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing 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. That's why when we briefly looked at Wal-Mart de México. de's (BMV:WALMEX) ROCE trend, we were very happy with what we saw.

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Wal-Mart de México. de:

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

0.27 = Mex$72b ÷ (Mex$441b - Mex$173b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

So, Wal-Mart de México. de has an ROCE of 27%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Consumer Retailing industry average of 18%.

View our latest analysis for Wal-Mart de México. de

In the above chart we have measured Wal-Mart de México. de's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Wal-Mart de México. de here for free.

How Are Returns Trending?

We'd be pretty happy with returns on capital like Wal-Mart de México. de. The company has employed 47% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 27%. With returns that high, it's great that the business can continually reinvest its money at such appealing rates of return. You'll see this when looking at well operated businesses or favorable business models.

Our Take On Wal-Mart de México. de's ROCE

In the end, the company has proven it can reinvest it's capital at high rates of returns, which you'll remember is a trait of a multi-bagger. Therefore it's no surprise that shareholders have earned a respectable 64% return if they held over the last five years. So even though the stock might be more "expensive" than it was before, we think the strong fundamentals warrant this stock for further research.

Before jumping to any conclusions though, we need to know what value we're getting for the current share price. That's where you can check out our FREE intrinsic value estimation that compares the share price and estimated value.

High returns are a key ingredient to strong performance, so check out our free list ofstocks earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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.