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'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think TechTarget (NASDAQ:TTGT) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for TechTarget:

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

0.023 = US$15m ÷ (US$688m - US$39m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, TechTarget has an ROCE of 2.3%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Media industry average of 7.7%.

Check out our latest analysis for TechTarget

Above you can see how the current ROCE for TechTarget compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

So How Is TechTarget's ROCE Trending?

In terms of TechTarget's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 12% over the last five years. And considering revenue has dropped while employing more capital, we'd be cautious. If this were to continue, you might be looking at a company that is trying to reinvest for growth but is actually losing market share since sales haven't increased.

The Key Takeaway

From the above analysis, we find it rather worrisome that returns on capital and sales for TechTarget have fallen, meanwhile the business is employing more capital than it was five years ago. The market must be rosy on the stock's future because even though the underlying trends aren't too encouraging, the stock has soared 177%. Regardless, we don't feel too comfortable with the fundamentals so we'd be steering clear of this stock for now.

TechTarget does have some risks though, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for TechTarget that you might be interested in.

While TechTarget 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 free list 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.