Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Is Very Good At Capital Allocation

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. With that in mind, the ROCE of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) looks great, so lets see what the trend can tell us.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Lockheed Martin, this is the formula:

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

0.25 = US$8.7b ÷ (US$52b - US$16b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).

Therefore, Lockheed Martin has an ROCE of 25%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Aerospace & Defense industry average of 8.5%.

See our latest analysis for Lockheed Martin

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Lockheed Martin compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

So How Is Lockheed Martin's ROCE Trending?

Lockheed Martin is showing promise given that its ROCE is trending up and to the right. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 71% whilst employing roughly the same amount of capital. Basically the business is generating higher returns from the same amount of capital and that is proof that there are improvements in the company's efficiencies. On that front, things are looking good so it's worth exploring what management has said about growth plans going forward.

What We Can Learn From Lockheed Martin's ROCE

To bring it all together, Lockheed Martin has done well to increase the returns it's generating from its capital employed. Since the stock has returned a solid 57% 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.

On a separate note, we've found 1 warning sign for Lockheed Martin you'll probably want to know about.

Lockheed Martin 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.