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If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. That's why when we briefly looked at Super Retail Group's (ASX:SUL) ROCE trend, we were pretty happy with what we saw.
Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?
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. To calculate this metric for Super Retail Group, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.18 = AU$393m ÷ (AU$2.9b - AU$763m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2022).
So, Super Retail Group has an ROCE of 18%. That's a relatively normal return on capital, and it's around the 19% generated by the Specialty Retail industry.
See our latest analysis for Super Retail Group
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Super Retail Group 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 Super Retail Group.
What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us
The trend of ROCE doesn't stand out much, but returns on a whole are decent. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 18% and the business has deployed 75% more capital into its operations. 18% is a pretty standard return, and it provides some comfort knowing that Super Retail Group has consistently earned this amount. Stable returns in this ballpark can be unexciting, but if they can be maintained over the long run, they often provide nice rewards to shareholders.
The Key Takeaway
The main thing to remember is that Super Retail Group has proven its ability to continually reinvest at respectable rates of return. And since the stock has risen strongly over the last five years, it appears the market might expect this trend to continue. So while investors seem to be recognizing these promising trends, we still believe the stock deserves further research.
Super Retail Group does come with some risks though, we found 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is significant...
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.