Yahoo Finance Capital Investments At NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) Point To A Promising Future
If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out 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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. With that in mind, the ROCE of NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) looks attractive right now, so lets see what the trend of returns 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. The formula for this calculation on NetEase is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.21 = CN¥28b ÷ (CN¥186b - CN¥54b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).
Therefore, NetEase has an ROCE of 21%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Entertainment industry average of 11%.
View our latest analysis for NetEase
Above you can see how the current ROCE for NetEase 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 NetEase .
So How Is NetEase's ROCE Trending?
It's hard not to be impressed by NetEase's returns on capital. The company has consistently earned 21% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 155% in that time. Returns like this are the envy of most businesses and given it has repeatedly reinvested at these rates, that's even better. You'll see this when looking at well operated businesses or favorable business models.
One more thing to note, even though ROCE has remained relatively flat over the last five years, the reduction in current liabilities to 29% of total assets, is good to see from a business owner's perspective. Effectively suppliers now fund less of the business, which can lower some elements of risk.
What We Can Learn From NetEase's ROCE
In short, we'd argue NetEase has the makings of a multi-bagger since its been able to compound its capital at very profitable rates of return. And since the stock has risen strongly over the last five years, it appears the market might expect this trend to continue. So even though the stock might be more "expensive" than it was before, we think the strong fundamentals warrant this stock for further research.
On a final note, we've found 2 warning signs for NetEase 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.
