If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. So, when we ran our eye over Acuity Brands' (NYSE:AYI) trend of ROCE, we 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. To calculate this metric for Acuity Brands, this is the formula:

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

0.18 = US$552m ÷ (US$3.8b - US$688m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to August 2024).

Therefore, Acuity Brands has an ROCE of 18%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 11% generated by the Electrical industry.

In the above chart we have measured Acuity Brands' 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 Acuity Brands .

What Does the ROCE Trend For Acuity Brands Tell Us?

The trend of ROCE doesn't stand out much, but returns on a whole are decent. The company has employed 21% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 18%. Since 18% is a moderate ROCE though, it's good to see a business can continue to reinvest at these decent rates of return. 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.

Our Take On Acuity Brands' ROCE

To sum it up, Acuity Brands has simply been reinvesting capital steadily, at those decent rates of return. And long term investors would be thrilled with the 115% return they've received over the last five years. So even though the stock might be more "expensive" than it was before, we think the strong fundamentals warrant this stock for further research.

On a separate note, we've found 1 warning sign for Acuity Brands you'll probably want to know about.

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.