Many Would Be Envious Of IDEXX Laboratories' (NASDAQ:IDXX) Excellent Returns On Capital

What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing 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 IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) looks attractive right now, so lets see what the trend of returns can tell us.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. To calculate this metric for IDEXX Laboratories, this is the formula:

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

0.41 = US$695m ÷ (US$2.3b - US$583m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2021).

Therefore, IDEXX Laboratories has an ROCE of 41%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 9.9% earned by companies in a similar industry.

Check out our latest analysis for IDEXX Laboratories

Above you can see how the current ROCE for IDEXX Laboratories 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 Can We Tell From IDEXX Laboratories' ROCE Trend?

IDEXX Laboratories deserves to be commended in regards to it's returns. The company has consistently earned 41% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 177% in that time. With returns that high, it's great that the business can continually reinvest its money at such appealing rates of return. If these trends can continue, it wouldn't surprise us if the company became a multi-bagger.

One more thing to note, even though ROCE has remained relatively flat over the last five years, the reduction in current liabilities to 25% of total assets, is good to see from a business owner's perspective. This can eliminate some of the risks inherent in the operations because the business has less outstanding obligations to their suppliers and or short-term creditors than they did previously.

In Conclusion...

In summary, we're delighted to see that IDEXX Laboratories has been compounding returns by reinvesting at consistently high rates of return, as these are common traits of a multi-bagger. On top of that, the stock has rewarded shareholders with a remarkable 500% return to those who've held over the last five years. So while the positive underlying trends may be accounted for by investors, we still think this stock is worth looking into further.

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

If you want to search for more stocks that have been earning high returns, check out this free list of stocks with solid balance sheets that are also earning high returns on equity.

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