Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential 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. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. With that in mind, the ROCE of Napco Security Technologies (NASDAQ:NSSC) looks great, so lets see what the trend can tell us.

Understanding 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. The formula for this calculation on Napco Security Technologies is:

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

0.29 = US$53m ÷ (US$203m - US$22m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

Therefore, Napco Security Technologies has an ROCE of 29%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 10% earned by companies in a similar industry.

See our latest analysis for Napco Security Technologies

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Napco Security Technologies compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Napco Security Technologies for free.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Napco Security Technologies is displaying some positive trends. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 29%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 110% more capital is being employed now too. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, a combination that's common among multi-baggers.

The Bottom Line

To sum it up, Napco Security Technologies has proven it can reinvest in the business and generate higher returns on that capital employed, which is terrific. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

On the other side of ROCE, we have to consider valuation. That's why we have a FREE intrinsic value estimation for NSSC on our platform that is definitely worth checking out.

If you'd like to see other companies earning high returns, check out our free list of companies earning high returns with solid balance sheets here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.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.