We Like These Underlying Return On Capital Trends At Charles & Colvard (NASDAQ:CTHR)

If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So on that note, Charles & Colvard (NASDAQ:CTHR) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Charles & Colvard:

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

0.044 = US$2.0m ÷ (US$52m - US$6.0m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

Therefore, Charles & Colvard has an ROCE of 4.4%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Luxury industry average of 15%.

See our latest analysis for Charles & Colvard

In the above chart we have measured Charles & Colvard's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Charles & Colvard.

So How Is Charles & Colvard's ROCE Trending?

We're delighted to see that Charles & Colvard is reaping rewards from its investments and has now broken into profitability. The company was generating losses five years ago, but has managed to turn it around and as we saw earlier is now earning 4.4%, which is always encouraging. On top of that, what's interesting is that the amount of capital being employed has remained steady, so the business hasn't needed to put any additional money to work to generate these higher returns. So while we're happy that the business is more efficient, just keep in mind that could mean that going forward the business is lacking areas to invest internally for growth. So if you're looking for high growth, you'll want to see a business's capital employed also increasing.

The Bottom Line

As discussed above, Charles & Colvard appears to be getting more proficient at generating returns since capital employed has remained flat but earnings (before interest and tax) are up. Since the stock has returned a staggering 129% to shareholders over the last five years, it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Charles & Colvard can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing Charles & Colvard, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should be aware of.

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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