What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? 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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. So on that note, Lovesac (NASDAQ:LOVE) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

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

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Lovesac is:

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

0.085 = US$28m ÷ (US$436m - US$106m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to October 2023).

Therefore, Lovesac has an ROCE of 8.5%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Consumer Durables industry average of 14%.

Check out our latest analysis for Lovesac

In the above chart we have measured Lovesac'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 report for Lovesac.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Lovesac Tell Us?

We're delighted to see that Lovesac is reaping rewards from its investments and is now generating some pre-tax profits. The company was generating losses five years ago, but now it's earning 8.5% which is a sight for sore eyes. Not only that, but the company is utilizing 360% 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.

The Bottom Line

Overall, Lovesac gets a big tick from us thanks in most part to the fact that it is now profitable and is reinvesting in its business. Since the stock has only returned 17% to shareholders over the last five years, the promising fundamentals may not be recognized yet by investors. So with that in mind, we think the stock deserves further research.

On a final note, we've found 1 warning sign for Lovesac that we think you should be aware of.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive 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.