Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. 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. In light of that, when we looked at THOR Industries (NYSE:THO) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

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 THOR Industries, this is the formula:

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

0.089 = US$484m ÷ (US$7.2b - US$1.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to October 2023).

Therefore, THOR Industries has an ROCE of 8.9%. Even though it's in line with the industry average of 8.9%, it's still a low return by itself.

View our latest analysis for THOR Industries

In the above chart we have measured THOR Industries' 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 THOR Industries.

What Does the ROCE Trend For THOR Industries Tell Us?

In terms of THOR Industries' historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 27%, but since then they've fallen to 8.9%. And considering revenue has dropped while employing more capital, we'd be cautious. If this were to continue, you might be looking at a company that is trying to reinvest for growth but is actually losing market share since sales haven't increased.

Our Take On THOR Industries' ROCE

In summary, we're somewhat concerned by THOR Industries' diminishing returns on increasing amounts of capital. However the stock has delivered a 97% return to shareholders over the last five years, so investors might be expecting the trends to turn around. Regardless, we don't feel too comfortable with the fundamentals so we'd be steering clear of this stock for now.

One more thing, we've spotted 2 warning signs facing THOR Industries that you might find interesting.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high 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.