If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look 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. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Having said that, from a first glance at Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. The formula for this calculation on Air Products and Chemicals is:

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

0.086 = US$2.7b ÷ (US$34b - US$3.1b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Therefore, Air Products and Chemicals has an ROCE of 8.6%. In absolute terms, that's a low return but it's around the Chemicals industry average of 9.7%.

In the above chart we have measured Air Products and Chemicals' 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 Air Products and Chemicals .

So How Is Air Products and Chemicals' ROCE Trending?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Air Products and Chemicals, we didn't gain much confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 12% over the last five years. However it looks like Air Products and Chemicals might be reinvesting for long term growth because while capital employed has increased, the company's sales haven't changed much in the last 12 months. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

The Bottom Line

To conclude, we've found that Air Products and Chemicals is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. And investors may be recognizing these trends since the stock has only returned a total of 29% to shareholders over the last five years. Therefore, if you're looking for a multi-bagger, we'd propose looking at other options.

One more thing, we've spotted 2 warning signs facing Air Products and Chemicals that you might find interesting.

While Air Products and Chemicals isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are 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.