Capital Allocation Trends At NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Aren't Ideal

Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount 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. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.

Understanding 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. The formula for this calculation on NextEra Energy is:

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

0.053 = US$7.4b ÷ (US$165b - US$25b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2023).

Therefore, NextEra Energy has an ROCE of 5.3%. On its own that's a low return on capital but it's in line with the industry's average returns of 4.5%.

View our latest analysis for NextEra Energy

Above you can see how the current ROCE for NextEra Energy compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

What Does the ROCE Trend For NextEra Energy Tell Us?

In terms of NextEra Energy's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 6.8%, but since then they've fallen to 5.3%. However, given capital employed and revenue have both increased it appears that the business is currently pursuing growth, at the consequence of short term returns. If these investments prove successful, this can bode very well for long term stock performance.

Our Take On NextEra Energy's ROCE

Even though returns on capital have fallen in the short term, we find it promising that revenue and capital employed have both increased for NextEra Energy. And the stock has done incredibly well with a 116% return over the last five years, so long term investors are no doubt ecstatic with that result. So while investors seem to be recognizing these promising trends, we would look further into this stock to make sure the other metrics justify the positive view.

NextEra Energy does come with some risks though, we found 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those shouldn't be ignored...

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.