Returns On Capital At Floor & Decor Holdings (NYSE:FND) Have Hit The Brakes

To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base 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, when we ran our eye over Floor & Decor Holdings' (NYSE:FND) trend of ROCE, we liked what we saw.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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. To calculate this metric for Floor & Decor Holdings, this is the formula:

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

0.13 = US$341m ÷ (US$3.7b - US$1.0b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).

Thus, Floor & Decor Holdings has an ROCE of 13%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty standard return but compared to the Specialty Retail industry average it falls behind.

See our latest analysis for Floor & Decor Holdings

In the above chart we have measured Floor & Decor Holdings' 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 Floor & Decor Holdings here for free.

What Can We Tell From Floor & Decor Holdings' ROCE Trend?

The trend of ROCE doesn't stand out much, but returns on a whole are decent. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 13% and the business has deployed 360% more capital into its operations. Since 13% is a moderate ROCE though, it's good to see a business can continue to reinvest at these decent rates of return. 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.

The Bottom Line On Floor & Decor Holdings' ROCE

To sum it up, Floor & Decor Holdings has simply been reinvesting capital steadily, at those decent rates of return. And the stock has done incredibly well with a 145% return over the last three years, so long term investors are no doubt ecstatic with that result. So while investors seem to be recognizing these promising trends, we still believe the stock deserves further research.

One more thing: We've identified 2 warning signs with Floor & Decor Holdings (at least 1 which shouldn't be ignored) , and understanding them would certainly be useful.

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.