If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing 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. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Instructure Holdings' (NYSE:INST) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Instructure Holdings:

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

0.0081 = US$15m ÷ (US$2.2b - US$385m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, Instructure Holdings has an ROCE of 0.8%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Software industry average of 8.5%.

See our latest analysis for Instructure Holdings

In the above chart we have measured Instructure Holdings' 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 Instructure Holdings here for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Instructure Holdings Tell Us?

Instructure Holdings has recently broken into profitability so their prior investments seem to be paying off. Shareholders would no doubt be pleased with this because the business was loss-making five years ago but is is now generating 0.8% on its capital. In addition to that, Instructure Holdings is employing 1,203% more capital than previously which is expected of a company that's trying to break into profitability. This can tell us that the company has plenty of reinvestment opportunities that are able to generate higher returns.

On a related note, the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets has decreased to 18%, which basically reduces it's funding from the likes of short-term creditors or suppliers. Therefore we can rest assured that the growth in ROCE is a result of the business' fundamental improvements, rather than a cooking class featuring this company's books.

What We Can Learn From Instructure Holdings' ROCE

To the delight of most shareholders, Instructure Holdings has now broken into profitability. Since the stock has only returned 4.4% to shareholders over the last year, the promising fundamentals may not be recognized yet by investors. So with that in mind, we think the stock deserves further research.

One more thing, we've spotted 1 warning sign facing Instructure Holdings that you might find interesting.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.