Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? 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. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. So when we looked at MAX Automation (ETR:MXHN) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked 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. The formula for this calculation on MAX Automation is:

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

0.065 = €17m ÷ (€385m - €122m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Thus, MAX Automation has an ROCE of 6.5%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Machinery industry average of 11%.

View our latest analysis for MAX Automation

In the above chart we have measured MAX Automation's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering MAX Automation for free.

So How Is MAX Automation's ROCE Trending?

The fact that MAX Automation is now generating some pre-tax profits from its prior investments is very encouraging. About five years ago the company was generating losses but things have turned around because it's now earning 6.5% on its capital. Not only that, but the company is utilizing 44% more capital than before, but that's to be expected from a company trying to break into profitability. This can tell us that the company has plenty of reinvestment opportunities that are able to generate higher returns.

One more thing to note, MAX Automation has decreased current liabilities to 32% of total assets over this period, which effectively reduces the amount of funding from suppliers or short-term creditors. This tells us that MAX Automation has grown its returns without a reliance on increasing their current liabilities, which we're very happy with.

What We Can Learn From MAX Automation's ROCE

In summary, it's great to see that MAX Automation has managed to break into profitability and is continuing to reinvest in its business. Considering the stock has delivered 22% to its stockholders over the last five years, it may be fair to think that investors aren't fully aware of the promising trends yet. So with that in mind, we think the stock deserves further research.