We Like Franklin Wireless' (NASDAQ:FKWL) Returns And Here's How They're Trending

If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing 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 looked at the ROCE trend of Franklin Wireless (NASDAQ:FKWL) we really liked what we saw.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Franklin Wireless, this is the formula:

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

0.26 = US$12m ÷ (US$50m - US$5.0m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).

Therefore, Franklin Wireless has an ROCE of 26%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Communications industry average of 8.6%.

View our latest analysis for Franklin Wireless

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you're interested in investigating Franklin Wireless' past further, check out this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Franklin Wireless is displaying some positive trends. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 26%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 146%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

On a related note, the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets has decreased to 9.9%, which basically reduces it's funding from the likes of short-term creditors or suppliers. This tells us that Franklin Wireless has grown its returns without a reliance on increasing their current liabilities, which we're very happy with.

The Bottom Line On Franklin Wireless' ROCE

In summary, it's great to see that Franklin Wireless can compound returns by consistently reinvesting capital at increasing rates of return, because these are some of the key ingredients of those highly sought after multi-baggers. And with a respectable 61% awarded to those who held the stock over the last five years, you could argue that these developments are starting to get the attention they deserve. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing Franklin Wireless, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should be aware of.

High returns are a key ingredient to strong performance, so check out our free list ofstocks earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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.

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