There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. 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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. So on that note, PTC (NASDAQ:PTC) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for PTC:

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

0.13 = US$591m ÷ (US$6.4b - US$1.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

Therefore, PTC has an ROCE of 13%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 8.8% generated by the Software industry.

In the above chart we have measured PTC'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 PTC .

So How Is PTC's ROCE Trending?

PTC is displaying some positive trends. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 13%. 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 133%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

Our Take On PTC's ROCE

A company that is growing its returns on capital and can consistently reinvest in itself is a highly sought after trait, and that's what PTC has. Since the stock has returned a staggering 165% to shareholders over the last five years, it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

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

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive 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.