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. 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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. And in light of that, the trends we're seeing at Lululemon Athletica's (NASDAQ:LULU) look very promising so lets take a look.

Understanding 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 Lululemon Athletica:

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

0.44 = US$2.3b ÷ (US$6.7b - US$1.5b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2024).

Therefore, Lululemon Athletica has an ROCE of 44%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 13% earned by companies in a similar industry.

In the above chart we have measured Lululemon Athletica's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Lululemon Athletica for free.

What Can We Tell From Lululemon Athletica's ROCE Trend?

Lululemon Athletica is displaying some positive trends. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 44%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 148% more capital is being employed now too. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

The Bottom Line On Lululemon Athletica's ROCE

In summary, it's great to see that Lululemon Athletica can compound returns by consistently reinvesting capital at increasing rates of return, because these are some of the key ingredients of those highly sought after multi-baggers. Since the stock has only returned 36% to shareholders over the last five years, the promising fundamentals may not be recognized yet by investors. Given that, we'd look further into this stock in case it has more traits that could make it multiply in the long term.

On the other side of ROCE, we have to consider valuation. That's why we have a FREE intrinsic value estimation for LULU on our platform that is definitely worth checking out.

If you'd like to see other companies earning high returns, check out our free list of companies earning high returns with solid balance sheets 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.