If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Insulet's (NASDAQ:PODD) returns on capital, so let's have a look.
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Insulet:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.11 = US$341m ÷ (US$3.5b - US$520m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2025).
Thus, Insulet has an ROCE of 11%. That's a relatively normal return on capital, and it's around the 10% generated by the Medical Equipment industry.
Check out our latest analysis for Insulet
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Insulet 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 analyst report for Insulet .
How Are Returns Trending?
The trends we've noticed at Insulet are quite reassuring. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 11%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 206%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.
What We Can Learn From Insulet's ROCE
A company that is growing its returns on capital and can consistently reinvest in itself is a highly sought after trait, and that's what Insulet has. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 60% return over the last five years. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Insulet can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.
Before jumping to any conclusions though, we need to know what value we're getting for the current share price. That's where you can check out our FREE intrinsic value estimation for PODD that compares the share price and estimated value.
While Insulet isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.
Valuation is complex, but we're here to simplify it.
Discover if Insulet might be undervalued or overvalued with our detailed analysis, featuring fair value estimates, potential risks, dividends, insider trades, and its financial condition.
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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.