Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Might Become A Compounding Machine

If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. That's why when we briefly looked at Lam Research's (NASDAQ:LRCX) ROCE trend, we were very happy with what we saw.

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

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 Lam Research, this is the formula:

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

0.32 = US$4.6b ÷ (US$19b - US$4.2b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, Lam Research has an ROCE of 32%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Semiconductor industry average of 11%.

Check out our latest analysis for Lam Research

In the above chart we have measured Lam Research'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 report for Lam Research.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Lam Research Tell Us?

Lam Research deserves to be commended in regards to it's returns. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 32% and the business has deployed 76% more capital into its operations. With returns that high, it's great that the business can continually reinvest its money at such appealing rates of return. You'll see this when looking at well operated businesses or favorable business models.

In Conclusion...

Lam Research has demonstrated its proficiency by generating high returns on increasing amounts of capital employed, which we're thrilled about. And the stock has done incredibly well with a 423% return over the last five years, so long term investors are no doubt ecstatic with that result. So while the positive underlying trends may be accounted for by investors, we still think this stock is worth looking into further.

On the other side of ROCE, we have to consider valuation. That's why we have a FREE intrinsic value estimation on our platform that is definitely worth checking out.

If you want to search for more stocks that have been earning high returns, check out this free list of stocks with solid balance sheets that are also earning 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.