There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. 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. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Box (NYSE:BOX) so let's look a bit deeper.

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. To calculate this metric for Box, this is the formula:

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

0.11 = US$83m ÷ (US$1.4b - US$587m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to October 2024).

So, Box has an ROCE of 11%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 8.8% generated by the Software industry.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Box compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Box for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Box Tell Us?

Box has recently broken into profitability so their prior investments seem to be paying off. The company was generating losses five years ago, but now it's earning 11% which is a sight for sore eyes. Not only that, but the company is utilizing 104% more capital than before, but that's to be expected from a company trying to break into profitability. This can tell us that the company has plenty of reinvestment opportunities that are able to generate higher returns.

In another part of our analysis, we noticed that the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets decreased to 43%, which broadly means the business is relying less on its suppliers or short-term creditors to fund its operations. This tells us that Box has grown its returns without a reliance on increasing their current liabilities, which we're very happy with. Nevertheless, there are some potential risks the company is bearing with current liabilities that high, so just keep that in mind.

What We Can Learn From Box's ROCE

Long story short, we're delighted to see that Box's reinvestment activities have paid off and the company is now profitable. And with a respectable 86% awarded to those who held the stock over the last five years, you could argue that these developments are starting to get the attention they deserve. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

On the other side of ROCE, we have to consider valuation. That's why we have a FREE intrinsic value estimation for BOX on our platform that is definitely worth checking out.

While Box 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.