What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. That's why when we briefly looked at Garmin's (NYSE:GRMN) ROCE trend, we were pretty happy with what we saw.

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 Garmin:

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

0.17 = US$1.3b ÷ (US$8.9b - US$1.6b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

Therefore, Garmin has an ROCE of 17%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 14% generated by the Consumer Durables industry.

In the above chart we have measured Garmin's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free analyst report for Garmin .

The Trend Of ROCE

While the current returns on capital are decent, they haven't changed much. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 17% and the business has deployed 61% more capital into its operations. Since 17% is a moderate ROCE though, it's good to see a business can continue to reinvest at these decent rates of return. Over long periods of time, returns like these might not be too exciting, but with consistency they can pay off in terms of share price returns.

The Bottom Line

In the end, Garmin has proven its ability to adequately reinvest capital at good rates of return. And the stock has done incredibly well with a 138% return over the last five years, so long term investors are no doubt ecstatic with that result. So while investors seem to be recognizing these promising trends, we still believe the stock deserves further research.

Like most companies, Garmin does come with some risks, and we've found 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.

While Garmin 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.