What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? 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. That's why when we briefly looked at Brady's (NYSE:BRC) ROCE trend, we were very happy with what we saw.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. The formula for this calculation on Brady is:

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

0.20 = US$239m ÷ (US$1.4b - US$253m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to April 2024).

So, Brady has an ROCE of 20%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Commercial Services industry average of 9.6%.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Brady 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 analyst report for Brady .

So How Is Brady's ROCE Trending?

It's hard not to be impressed by Brady's returns on capital. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 20% and the business has deployed 25% more capital into its operations. Returns like this are the envy of most businesses and given it has repeatedly reinvested at these rates, that's even better. If Brady can keep this up, we'd be very optimistic about its future.

The Key Takeaway

In the end, the company has proven it can reinvest it's capital at high rates of returns, which you'll remember is a trait of a multi-bagger. Therefore it's no surprise that shareholders have earned a respectable 69% return if they held over the last five years. So while the positive underlying trends may be accounted for by investors, we still think this stock is worth looking into further.

While Brady looks impressive, no company is worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic for BRC helps visualize whether it is currently trading for a fair price.

Brady is not the only stock earning high returns. If you'd like to see more, check out our free list of companies earning high returns on equity with solid fundamentals.

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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.