There's Been No Shortage Of Growth Recently For Activision Blizzard's (NASDAQ:ATVI) Returns On Capital

Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. So on that note, Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

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. To calculate this metric for Activision Blizzard, this is the formula:

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

0.15 = US$3.0b ÷ (US$23b - US$3.2b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2021).

So, Activision Blizzard has an ROCE of 15%. That's a relatively normal return on capital, and it's around the 14% generated by the Entertainment industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Activision Blizzard

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Activision Blizzard compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Activision Blizzard.

The Trend Of ROCE

Activision Blizzard is displaying some positive trends. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 15%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 35% more capital is being employed now too. 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 Bottom Line

To sum it up, Activision Blizzard has proven it can reinvest in the business and generate higher returns on that capital employed, which is terrific. And a remarkable 132% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.

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

While Activision Blizzard 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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