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What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount 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. And in light of that, the trends we're seeing at Clearfield's (NASDAQ:CLFD) look very promising so lets take a look.
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. The formula for this calculation on Clearfield is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.22 = US$69m ÷ (US$357m - US$40m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2023).
Thus, Clearfield has an ROCE of 22%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 9.5% earned by companies in a similar industry.
See our latest analysis for Clearfield
In the above chart we have measured Clearfield'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 Clearfield.
So How Is Clearfield's ROCE Trending?
The trends we've noticed at Clearfield are quite reassuring. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 22%. 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 378%. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at Clearfield thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.
The Bottom Line On Clearfield's ROCE
A company that is growing its returns on capital and can consistently reinvest in itself is a highly sought after trait, and that's what Clearfield has. And a remarkable 237% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.
One final note, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Clearfield (including 2 which are potentially serious) .