We Like These Underlying Return On Capital Trends At Vince Holding (NYSE:VNCE)

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. 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. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. So on that note, Vince Holding (NYSE:VNCE) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

What Is 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. The formula for this calculation on Vince Holding is:

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

0.0096 = US$2.3m ÷ (US$329m - US$90m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to April 2022).

Therefore, Vince Holding has an ROCE of 1.0%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Luxury industry average of 15%.

View our latest analysis for Vince Holding

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Vince Holding 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.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Vince Holding has recently broken into profitability so their prior investments seem to be paying off. About five years ago the company was generating losses but things have turned around because it's now earning 1.0% on its capital. Not only that, but the company is utilizing 22% more capital than before, but that's to be expected from a company trying to break into profitability. We like this trend, because it tells us the company has profitable reinvestment opportunities available to it, and if it continues going forward that can lead to a multi-bagger performance.

On a side note, we noticed that the improvement in ROCE appears to be partly fueled by an increase in current liabilities. The current liabilities has increased to 27% of total assets, so the business is now more funded by the likes of its suppliers or short-term creditors. It's worth keeping an eye on this because as the percentage of current liabilities to total assets increases, some aspects of risk also increase.

The Bottom Line

Long story short, we're delighted to see that Vince Holding's reinvestment activities have paid off and the company is now profitable. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 47% return over the last five years. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Vince Holding can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

One more thing: We've identified 3 warning signs with Vince Holding (at least 1 which is a bit concerning) , and understanding them would certainly be useful.

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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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.