What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? 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 Copa Holdings (NYSE:CPA) looks great, so lets see what the trend can tell us.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Copa Holdings:

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

0.21 = US$830m ÷ (US$5.2b - US$1.3b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

So, Copa Holdings has an ROCE of 21%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Airlines industry average of 8.5%.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Copa Holdings compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for Copa Holdings .

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Copa Holdings' ROCE growth is quite impressive. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 143% whilst employing roughly the same amount of capital. So it's likely that the business is now reaping the full benefits of its past investments, since the capital employed hasn't changed considerably. The company is doing well in that sense, and it's worth investigating what the management team has planned for long term growth prospects.

In Conclusion...

In summary, we're delighted to see that Copa Holdings has been able to increase efficiencies and earn higher rates of return on the same amount of capital. Since the total return from the stock has been almost flat over the last five years, there might be an opportunity here if the valuation looks good. With that in mind, we believe the promising trends warrant this stock for further investigation.

On a final note, we've found 2 warning signs for Copa Holdings that we think you should be aware of.

High returns are a key ingredient to strong performance, so check out our free list ofstocks 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.

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