Yahoo Finance NZME (NZSE:NZM) Shareholders Will Want The ROCE Trajectory To Continue
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. 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 looked at NZME (NZSE:NZM) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.
What is 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. To calculate this metric for NZME, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.16 = NZ$40m ÷ (NZ$312m - NZ$70m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).
Therefore, NZME has an ROCE of 16%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 12% generated by the Media industry.
View our latest analysis for NZME
Above you can see how the current ROCE for NZME 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 NZME.
What Can We Tell From NZME's ROCE Trend?
NZME has not disappointed in regards to ROCE growth. We found that the returns on capital employed over the last five years have risen by 47%. That's a very favorable trend because this means that the company is earning more per dollar of capital that's being employed. In regards to capital employed, NZME appears to been achieving more with less, since the business is using 41% less capital to run its operation. A business that's shrinking its asset base like this isn't usually typical of a soon to be multi-bagger company.
In Conclusion...
In the end, NZME has proven it's capital allocation skills are good with those higher returns from less amount of capital. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.
One final note, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with NZME (including 1 which is potentially serious) .
While NZME may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list 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.
