The Return Trends At Insulet (NASDAQ:PODD) Look Promising

Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. So on that note, Insulet (NASDAQ:PODD) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

Understanding 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. To calculate this metric for Insulet, this is the formula:

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

0.052 = US$95m ÷ (US$2.1b - US$279m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).

Thus, Insulet has an ROCE of 5.2%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Medical Equipment industry average of 9.2%.

View 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'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Insulet here for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

The fact that Insulet is now generating some pre-tax profits from its prior investments is very encouraging. The company was generating losses five years ago, but now it's earning 5.2% which is a sight for sore eyes. In addition to that, Insulet is employing 346% more capital than previously which is expected of a company that's trying to break into profitability. This can tell us that the company has plenty of reinvestment opportunities that are able to generate higher returns.

What We Can Learn From Insulet's ROCE

Overall, Insulet gets a big tick from us thanks in most part to the fact that it is now profitable and is reinvesting in its business. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. 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.

If you want to know some of the risks facing Insulet we've found 2 warning signs (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

While Insulet may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.