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'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base 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. So on that note, NetLink NBN Trust (SGX:CJLU) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

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

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. The formula for this calculation on NetLink NBN Trust is:

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

0.034 = S$124m ÷ (S$3.9b - S$256m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

Therefore, NetLink NBN Trust has an ROCE of 3.4%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Telecom industry average of 11%.

View our latest analysis for NetLink NBN Trust

SGX:CJLU Return on Capital Employed January 13th 2025

Above you can see how the current ROCE for NetLink NBN Trust 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 NetLink NBN Trust .

The Trend Of ROCE

While there are companies with higher returns on capital out there, we still find the trend at NetLink NBN Trust promising. Looking at the data, we can see that even though capital employed in the business has remained relatively flat, the ROCE generated has risen by 39% over the last five years. So it's likely that the business is now reaping the full benefits of its past investments, since the capital employed hasn't changed considerably. On that front, things are looking good so it's worth exploring what management has said about growth plans going forward.

The Key Takeaway

In summary, we're delighted to see that NetLink NBN Trust has been able to increase efficiencies and earn higher rates of return on the same amount of capital. Investors may not be impressed by the favorable underlying trends yet because over the last five years the stock has only returned 17% to shareholders. Given that, we'd look further into this stock in case it has more traits that could make it multiply in the long term.

Like most companies, NetLink NBN Trust does come with some risks, and we've found 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.

While NetLink NBN Trust 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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