Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's 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. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Cimpress' (NASDAQ:CMPR) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

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. The formula for this calculation on Cimpress is:

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

0.13 = US$157m ÷ (US$1.8b - US$639m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, Cimpress has an ROCE of 13%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 9.1% generated by the Commercial Services industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Cimpress

In the above chart we have measured Cimpress' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Cimpress Tell Us?

Cimpress' ROCE growth is quite impressive. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 33% whilst employing roughly the same amount of capital. So it's likely that the business is now reaping the full benefits of its past investments, since the capital employed hasn't changed considerably. The company is doing well in that sense, and it's worth investigating what the management team has planned for long term growth prospects.

What We Can Learn From Cimpress' ROCE

To sum it up, Cimpress is collecting higher returns from the same amount of capital, and that's impressive. And since the stock has fallen 36% over the last five years, there might be an opportunity here. So researching this company further and determining whether or not these trends will continue seems justified.

Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Cimpress (of which 1 is concerning!) that you should know about.

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.

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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.