Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount 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. Having said that, from a first glance at Penumbra (NYSE:PEN) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

What Is 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. To calculate this metric for Penumbra, this is the formula:

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

0.065 = US$92m ÷ (US$1.6b - US$151m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Therefore, Penumbra has an ROCE of 6.5%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Medical Equipment industry average of 9.6%.

In the above chart we have measured Penumbra'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 Penumbra .

How Are Returns Trending?

In terms of Penumbra's historical ROCE trend, it doesn't exactly demand attention. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 6.5% and the business has deployed 213% more capital into its operations. This poor ROCE doesn't inspire confidence right now, and with the increase in capital employed, it's evident that the business isn't deploying the funds into high return investments.

In Conclusion...

In summary, Penumbra has simply been reinvesting capital and generating the same low rate of return as before. Although the market must be expecting these trends to improve because the stock has gained 53% over the last five years. However, unless these underlying trends turn more positive, we wouldn't get our hopes up too high.

If you're still interested in Penumbra it's worth checking out our FREE intrinsic value approximation for PEN to see if it's trading at an attractive price in other respects.

While Penumbra 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.