There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. With that in mind, the ROCE of Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) looks decent, right now, so lets see what the trend of returns can tell us.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Vulcan Materials, this is the formula:

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

0.10 = US$1.4b ÷ (US$14b - US$774m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

Thus, Vulcan Materials has an ROCE of 10%. That's a relatively normal return on capital, and it's around the 13% generated by the Basic Materials industry.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Vulcan Materials compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free analyst report for Vulcan Materials .

The Trend Of ROCE

While the current returns on capital are decent, they haven't changed much. The company has employed 36% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 10%. 10% is a pretty standard return, and it provides some comfort knowing that Vulcan Materials has consistently earned this amount. Over long periods of time, returns like these might not be too exciting, but with consistency they can pay off in terms of share price returns.

The Bottom Line

In the end, Vulcan Materials has proven its ability to adequately reinvest capital at good rates of return. And the stock has done incredibly well with a 109% return over the last five years, so long term investors are no doubt ecstatic with that result. So while investors seem to be recognizing these promising trends, we still believe the stock deserves further research.

If you want to continue researching Vulcan Materials, you might be interested to know about the 1 warning sign that our analysis has discovered.

While Vulcan Materials 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.