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If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? 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. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. That's why when we briefly looked at Compagnie Financière Richemont's (VTX:CFR) ROCE trend, we were pretty happy with what we saw.
What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?
For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Compagnie Financière Richemont is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.14 = €4.0b ÷ (€40b - €12b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).
So, Compagnie Financière Richemont has an ROCE of 14%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty normal return, and it's somewhat close to the Luxury industry average of 13%.
Check out our latest analysis for Compagnie Financière Richemont
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Compagnie Financière Richemont compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Compagnie Financière Richemont.
The Trend Of ROCE
The trend of ROCE doesn't stand out much, but returns on a whole are decent. The company has employed 82% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 14%. 14% is a pretty standard return, and it provides some comfort knowing that Compagnie Financière Richemont has consistently earned this amount. Over long periods of time, returns like these might not be too exciting, but with consistency they can pay off in terms of share price returns.
The Key Takeaway
To sum it up, Compagnie Financière Richemont has simply been reinvesting capital steadily, at those decent rates of return. Therefore it's no surprise that shareholders have earned a respectable 53% return if they held over the last five years. So while the positive underlying trends may be accounted for by investors, we still think this stock is worth looking into further.
While Compagnie Financière Richemont 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.