Here's What To Make Of Encore Wire's (NASDAQ:WIRE) Returns On Capital

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. In light of that, when we looked at Encore Wire (NASDAQ:WIRE) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

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 Encore Wire is:

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

0.088 = US$72m ÷ (US$884m - US$60m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).

Thus, Encore Wire has an ROCE of 8.8%. Even though it's in line with the industry average of 9.2%, it's still a low return by itself.

See our latest analysis for Encore Wire

In the above chart we have measured Encore Wire's 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.

What Can We Tell From Encore Wire's ROCE Trend?

The returns on capital haven't changed much for Encore Wire in recent years. The company has consistently earned 8.8% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 54% in that time. Given the company has increased the amount of capital employed, it appears the investments that have been made simply don't provide a high return on capital.

What We Can Learn From Encore Wire's ROCE

As we've seen above, Encore Wire's returns on capital haven't increased but it is reinvesting in the business. And with the stock having returned a mere 31% 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.

While Encore Wire doesn't shine too bright in this respect, it's still worth seeing if the company is trading at attractive prices. You can find that out with our FREE intrinsic value estimation on our platform.

While Encore Wire 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. 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.
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