If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Ferroglobe's (NASDAQ:GSM) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

Understanding 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. To calculate this metric for Ferroglobe, this is the formula:

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

0.21 = US$271m ÷ (US$1.7b - US$435m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, Ferroglobe has an ROCE of 21%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 9.7% earned by companies in a similar industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Ferroglobe

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Ferroglobe 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 Ferroglobe.

The Trend Of ROCE

We're pretty happy with how the ROCE has been trending at Ferroglobe. The figures show that over the last five years, returns on capital have grown by 136%. That's not bad because this tells for every dollar invested (capital employed), the company is increasing the amount earned from that dollar. Speaking of capital employed, the company is actually utilizing 27% less than it was five years ago, which can be indicative of a business that's improving its efficiency. Ferroglobe may be selling some assets so it's worth investigating if the business has plans for future investments to increase returns further still.

What We Can Learn From Ferroglobe's ROCE

In a nutshell, we're pleased to see that Ferroglobe has been able to generate higher returns from less capital. Since the stock has returned a staggering 148% to shareholders over the last five years, it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

If you want to continue researching Ferroglobe, you might be interested to know about the 2 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.

If you want to search for more stocks that have been earning high returns, check out this free list of stocks with solid balance sheets that are also earning 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.