Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So when we looked at Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

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

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

0.10 = US$323m ÷ (US$3.3b - US$122m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

So, Royal Gold has an ROCE of 10%. That's a relatively normal return on capital, and it's around the 9.4% generated by the Metals and Mining industry.

In the above chart we have measured Royal Gold's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for Royal Gold .

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

The trends we've noticed at Royal Gold are quite reassuring. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 10%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 25%. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at Royal Gold thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.

The Key Takeaway

To sum it up, Royal Gold has proven it can reinvest in the business and generate higher returns on that capital employed, which is terrific. Since the stock has only returned 23% to shareholders over the last five years, the promising fundamentals may not be recognized yet by investors. So with that in mind, we think the stock deserves further research.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing Royal Gold, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.

While Royal Gold 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.