Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Will Be Hoping To Turn Its Returns On Capital Around

Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? 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. So when we looked at Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST), they do have a high ROCE, but we weren't exactly elated from how returns are trending.

We've discovered 1 warning sign about Ross Stores. View them for free.

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

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. The formula for this calculation on Ross Stores is:

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

0.25 = US$2.6b ÷ (US$15b - US$4.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to February 2025).

So, Ross Stores has an ROCE of 25%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 13% earned by companies in a similar industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Ross Stores

In the above chart we have measured Ross Stores' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Ross Stores for free.

What Can We Tell From Ross Stores' ROCE Trend?

In terms of Ross Stores' historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Historically returns on capital were even higher at 32%, but they have dropped over the last five years. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

In Conclusion...

To conclude, we've found that Ross Stores is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. Since the stock has gained an impressive 75% over the last five years, investors must think there's better things to come. Ultimately, if the underlying trends persist, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger going forward.

Ross Stores does have some risks though, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Ross Stores that you might be interested in.

If you'd like to see other companies earning high returns, check out our free list of companies earning high returns with solid balance sheets 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.