What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's 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. Ergo, when we looked at the ROCE trends at Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC), we liked what we saw.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Paycom Software:

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

0.32 = US$593m ÷ (US$3.5b - US$1.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

Thus, Paycom Software has an ROCE of 32%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Professional Services industry average of 15%.

In the above chart we have measured Paycom Software's 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 analyst report for Paycom Software .

The Trend Of ROCE

We'd be pretty happy with returns on capital like Paycom Software. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 32% and the business has deployed 172% more capital into its operations. Returns like this are the envy of most businesses and given it has repeatedly reinvested at these rates, that's even better. If these trends can continue, it wouldn't surprise us if the company became a multi-bagger.

On a side note, Paycom Software has done well to reduce current liabilities to 48% of total assets over the last five years. Effectively suppliers now fund less of the business, which can lower some elements of risk. Although because current liabilities are still 48%, some of that risk is still prevalent.

The Bottom Line

In short, we'd argue Paycom Software has the makings of a multi-bagger since its been able to compound its capital at very profitable rates of return. Yet over the last five years the stock has declined 29%, so the decline might provide an opening. That's why we think it'd be worthwhile to look further into this stock given the fundamentals are appealing.

Before jumping to any conclusions though, we need to know what value we're getting for the current share price. That's where you can check out our FREE intrinsic value estimation for PAYC that compares the share price and estimated value.

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.