Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base 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. Having said that, from a first glance at Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

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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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Woodward:

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

0.12 = US$432m ÷ (US$4.5b - US$980m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2025).

Therefore, Woodward has an ROCE of 12%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Aerospace & Defense industry average of 9.6% it's much better.

See our latest analysis for Woodward NasdaqGS:WWD Return on Capital Employed April 30th 2025

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Woodward compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Woodward  for free.

What Can We Tell From Woodward's ROCE Trend?

Over the past five years, Woodward's ROCE and capital employed have both remained mostly flat. Businesses with these traits tend to be mature and steady operations because they're past the growth phase. With that in mind, unless investment picks up again in the future, we wouldn't expect Woodward to be a multi-bagger going forward.

The Bottom Line

In a nutshell, Woodward has been trudging along with the same returns from the same amount of capital over the last five years. Yet to long term shareholders the stock has gifted them an incredible 248% return in the last five years, so the market appears to be rosy about its future. However, unless these underlying trends turn more positive, we wouldn't get our hopes up too high.

Woodward could be trading at an attractive price in other respects, so you might find our  free intrinsic value estimation for WWD on our platform quite valuable.

While Woodward 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 freelist here.

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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.

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