If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. So, when we ran our eye over FW Thorpe's (LON:TFW) trend of ROCE, we liked what we saw.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

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 FW Thorpe is:

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

0.16 = UK£27m ÷ (UK£214m - UK£41m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

Thus, FW Thorpe has an ROCE of 16%.  In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Electrical industry average of 12% it's much better.

See our latest analysis for FW Thorpe  roce

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of FW Thorpe, check out these freegraphs here.

The Trend Of ROCE

While the current returns on capital are decent, they haven't changed much. The company has consistently earned 16% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 47% in that time. Since 16% is a moderate ROCE though, it's good to see a business can continue to reinvest at these decent rates of return. 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.



Our Take On FW Thorpe's ROCE

To sum it up, FW Thorpe has simply been reinvesting capital steadily, at those decent rates of return. And given the stock has only risen 35% over the last five years, we'd suspect the market is beginning to recognize these trends. So because of the trends we're seeing, we'd recommend looking further into this stock to see if it has the makings of a multi-bagger.

If you're still interested in FW Thorpe it's worth checking out our  FREE intrinsic value approximation to see if it's trading at an attractive price in other respects.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this freelist of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.