If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. 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 Fluence Energy's (NASDAQ:FLNC) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

What Is 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 Fluence Energy:

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

0.041 = US$27m ÷ (US$1.9b - US$1.3b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

Therefore, Fluence Energy has an ROCE of 4.1%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Electrical industry average of 11%.

In the above chart we have measured Fluence Energy's 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 analyst report for Fluence Energy .

What Can We Tell From Fluence Energy's ROCE Trend?

Fluence Energy 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 4.1% which is a sight for sore eyes. Not only that, but the company is utilizing 2,190% more capital than before, but that's to be expected from a company trying to break into profitability. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, both common traits of a multi-bagger.

On a related note, the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets has decreased to 66%, which basically reduces it's funding from the likes of short-term creditors or suppliers. This tells us that Fluence Energy 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.

The Bottom Line On Fluence Energy's ROCE

In summary, it's great to see that Fluence Energy has managed to break into profitability and is continuing to reinvest in its business. Given the stock has declined 55% in the last three years, this could be a good investment if the valuation and other metrics are also appealing. That being the case, research into the company's current valuation metrics and future prospects seems fitting.

If you want to continue researching Fluence Energy, you might be interested to know about the 1 warning sign that our analysis has discovered.

While Fluence Energy may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.