Yahoo Finance Copart (NASDAQ:CPRT) Is Aiming To Keep Up Its Impressive Returns
If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. So, when we ran our eye over Copart's (NASDAQ:CPRT) trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.
Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)
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. The formula for this calculation on Copart is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.27 = US$1.4b ÷ (US$5.4b - US$449m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to April 2022).
Therefore, Copart has an ROCE of 27%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Commercial Services industry average of 8.5%.
Check out our latest analysis for Copart
Above you can see how the current ROCE for Copart compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Copart.
How Are Returns Trending?
Copart deserves to be commended in regards to it's returns. The company has employed 214% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 27%. With returns that high, it's great that the business can continually reinvest its money at such appealing rates of return. If Copart can keep this up, we'd be very optimistic about its future.
What We Can Learn From Copart's ROCE
In summary, we're delighted to see that Copart has been compounding returns by reinvesting at consistently high rates of return, as these are common traits of a multi-bagger. And long term investors would be thrilled with the 268% return they've received over the last five years. So even though the stock might be more "expensive" than it was before, we think the strong fundamentals warrant this stock for further research.
While Copart looks impressive, no company is worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether CPRT is currently trading for a fair price.
If you'd like to see other companies earning high returns, check out our free list of companies earning high returns with solid balance sheets here.
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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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