LCI Industries (NYSE:LCII) May Have Issues Allocating Its Capital

What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? 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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. Having said that, while the ROCE is currently high for LCI Industries (NYSE:LCII), we aren't jumping out of our chairs because returns are decreasing.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

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 LCI Industries:

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

0.20 = US$553m ÷ (US$3.2b - US$421m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

Thus, LCI Industries has an ROCE of 20%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 12% earned by companies in a similar industry.

View our latest analysis for LCI Industries

In the above chart we have measured LCI Industries' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

How Are Returns Trending?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at LCI Industries, we didn't gain much confidence. To be more specific, while the ROCE is still high, it's fallen from 28% where it was five years ago. However, given capital employed and revenue have both increased it appears that the business is currently pursuing growth, at the consequence of short term returns. And if the increased capital generates additional returns, the business, and thus shareholders, will benefit in the long run.

The Bottom Line

Even though returns on capital have fallen in the short term, we find it promising that revenue and capital employed have both increased for LCI Industries. These trends are starting to be recognized by investors since the stock has delivered a 38% gain to shareholders who've held over the last five years. Therefore we'd recommend looking further into this stock to confirm if it has the makings of a good investment.

Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for LCI Industries (of which 1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should know about.

LCI Industries is not the only stock earning high returns. If you'd like to see more, check out our free list of companies earning high returns on equity with solid fundamentals.

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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.