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Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. 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. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. However, after investigating Teleflex (NYSE:TFX), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.
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 Teleflex is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.089 = US$545m ÷ (US$6.7b - US$610m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).
Thus, Teleflex has an ROCE of 8.9%. Even though it's in line with the industry average of 9.3%, it's still a low return by itself.
See our latest analysis for Teleflex
In the above chart we have measured Teleflex's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us
There are better returns on capital out there than what we're seeing at Teleflex. The company has consistently earned 8.9% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 25% in that time. This poor ROCE doesn't inspire confidence right now, and with the increase in capital employed, it's evident that the business isn't deploying the funds into high return investments.
What We Can Learn From Teleflex's ROCE
In summary, Teleflex has simply been reinvesting capital and generating the same low rate of return as before. Unsurprisingly, the stock has only gained 22% over the last five years, which potentially indicates that investors are accounting for this going forward. So if you're looking for a multi-bagger, the underlying trends indicate you may have better chances elsewhere.
While Teleflex doesn't shine too bright in this respect, it's still worth seeing if the company is trading at attractive prices. You can find that out with our FREE intrinsic value estimation on our platform.
While Teleflex may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.