If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base 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, the ROCE of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) looks great, so lets see what the trend can tell us.

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

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Williams-Sonoma, this is the formula:

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

0.41 = US$1.3b ÷ (US$4.9b - US$1.8b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to October 2023).

So, Williams-Sonoma has an ROCE of 41%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Specialty Retail industry average of 12%.

View our latest analysis for Williams-Sonoma

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Williams-Sonoma 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 Williams-Sonoma here for free.

So How Is Williams-Sonoma's ROCE Trending?

The trends we've noticed at Williams-Sonoma are quite reassuring. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 41%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 84%. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at Williams-Sonoma thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.

The Bottom Line On Williams-Sonoma's ROCE

In summary, it's great to see that Williams-Sonoma can compound returns by consistently reinvesting capital at increasing rates of return, because these are some of the key ingredients of those highly sought after multi-baggers. Since the stock has returned a staggering 342% to shareholders over the last five years, it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing Williams-Sonoma, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.

Williams-Sonoma 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.