América Móvil. de's (BMV:AMXB) Returns Have Hit A Wall

There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Although, when we looked at América Móvil. de (BMV:AMXB), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

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. The formula for this calculation on América Móvil. de is:

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

0.16 = Mex$168b ÷ (Mex$1.6t - Mex$524b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Therefore, América Móvil. de has an ROCE of 16%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 11% generated by the Wireless Telecom industry.

Check out our latest analysis for América Móvil. de

Above you can see how the current ROCE for América Móvil. de compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering América Móvil. de for free.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

There hasn't been much to report for América Móvil. de's returns and its level of capital employed because both metrics have been steady for the past five years. This tells us the company isn't reinvesting in itself, so it's plausible that it's past the growth phase. So don't be surprised if América Móvil. de doesn't end up being a multi-bagger in a few years time. This probably explains why América Móvil. de is paying out 30% of its income to shareholders in the form of dividends. Unless businesses have highly compelling growth opportunities, they'll typically return some money to shareholders.

Our Take On América Móvil. de's ROCE

In a nutshell, América Móvil. de has been trudging along with the same returns from the same amount of capital over the last five years. And with the stock having returned a mere 34% in the last five years to shareholders, you could argue that they're aware of these lackluster trends. Therefore, if you're looking for a multi-bagger, we'd propose looking at other options.

If you want to continue researching América Móvil. de, you might be interested to know about the 1 warning sign that our analysis has discovered.

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. 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.