If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. 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. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Polaris Media's (OB:POL) returns on capital, so let's have a look.
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Polaris Media:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.019 = kr64m ÷ (kr4.4b - kr1.1b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2025).
So, Polaris Media has an ROCE of 1.9%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Media industry average of 11%.
See our latest analysis for Polaris Media
Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Polaris Media's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you want to delve into the historical earnings , check out these free graphs detailing revenue and cash flow performance of Polaris Media.
What Can We Tell From Polaris Media's ROCE Trend?
While the ROCE isn't as high as some other companies out there, it's great to see it's on the up. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 79% whilst employing roughly the same amount of capital. So it's likely that the business is now reaping the full benefits of its past investments, since the capital employed hasn't changed considerably. On that front, things are looking good so it's worth exploring what management has said about growth plans going forward.
The Bottom Line On Polaris Media's ROCE
To sum it up, Polaris Media is collecting higher returns from the same amount of capital, and that's impressive. Since the stock has returned a solid 70% to shareholders over the last five years, it's fair to say investors are beginning to recognize these changes. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.
If you'd like to know about the risks facing Polaris Media, we've discovered 3 warning signs that you should be aware of.
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. 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.