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. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Having said that, from a first glance at Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

Understanding 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 Trimble:

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

0.065 = US$518m ÷ (US$9.3b - US$1.3b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, Trimble has an ROCE of 6.5%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Electronic industry average of 13%.

View our latest analysis for Trimble

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Trimble compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Trimble.

How Are Returns Trending?

The returns on capital haven't changed much for Trimble in recent years. The company has consistently earned 6.5% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 66% in that time. Given the company has increased the amount of capital employed, it appears the investments that have been made simply don't provide a high return on capital.

The Bottom Line On Trimble's ROCE

In summary, Trimble has simply been reinvesting capital and generating the same low rate of return as before. Unsurprisingly, the stock has only gained 18% over the last five years, which potentially indicates that investors are accounting for this going forward. So if you're looking for a multi-bagger, the underlying trends indicate you may have better chances elsewhere.

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

While Trimble isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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.