If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to 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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. So when we looked at the ROCE trend of PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) 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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for PulteGroup:

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

0.26 = US$3.5b ÷ (US$16b - US$2.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

Therefore, PulteGroup has an ROCE of 26%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 15% earned by companies in a similar industry.

In the above chart we have measured PulteGroup'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 PulteGroup .

The Trend Of ROCE

The trends we've noticed at PulteGroup are quite reassuring. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 26%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 66%. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, a combination that's common among multi-baggers.

Our Take On PulteGroup's ROCE

To sum it up, PulteGroup has proven it can reinvest in the business and generate higher returns on that capital employed, which is terrific. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if PulteGroup can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

Like most companies, PulteGroup does come with some risks, and we've found 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.

If you want to search for more stocks that have been earning high returns, check out this free list of stocks with solid balance sheets that are also earning high returns on equity.

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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.