If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's 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, Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.
What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?
For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Balchem is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.13 = US$205m ÷ (US$1.7b - US$126m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2025).
Therefore, Balchem has an ROCE of 13%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Chemicals industry average of 9.5% it's much better.
Check out our latest analysis for Balchem
In the above chart we have measured Balchem'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 analyst report for Balchem .
What Can We Tell From Balchem's ROCE Trend?
We like the trends that we're seeing from Balchem. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 13%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 40%. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, a combination that's common among multi-baggers.
The Key Takeaway
In summary, it's great to see that Balchem can compound returns by consistently reinvesting capital at increasing rates of return, because these are some of the key ingredients of those highly sought after multi-baggers. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 50% return over the last five years. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Balchem 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 BCPC that compares the share price and estimated value.
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.