Slowing Rates Of Return At PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Leave Little Room For Excitement

If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look 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. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. With that in mind, the ROCE of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) looks decent, right now, so lets see what the trend of returns can tell us.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on PPG Industries is:

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

0.12 = US$2.1b ÷ (US$22b - US$5.4b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

So, PPG Industries has an ROCE of 12%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty normal return, and it's somewhat close to the Chemicals industry average of 11%.

View our latest analysis for PPG Industries

Above you can see how the current ROCE for PPG Industries 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 PPG Industries here for free.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

While the returns on capital are good, they haven't moved much. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 12% and the business has deployed 32% more capital into its operations. 12% is a pretty standard return, and it provides some comfort knowing that PPG Industries has consistently earned this amount. Stable returns in this ballpark can be unexciting, but if they can be maintained over the long run, they often provide nice rewards to shareholders.

What We Can Learn From PPG Industries' ROCE

In the end, PPG Industries has proven its ability to adequately reinvest capital at good rates of return. However, over the last five years, the stock has only delivered a 26% return to shareholders who held over that period. That's why it could be worth your time looking into this stock further to discover if it has more traits of a multi-bagger.

One more thing to note, we've identified 1 warning sign with PPG Industries and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive 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.