If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? 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. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Ergo, when we looked at the ROCE trends at Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST), we liked what we saw.

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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. The formula for this calculation on Fastenal is:

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

0.38 = US$1.5b ÷ (US$4.7b - US$687m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

So, Fastenal has an ROCE of 38%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Trade Distributors industry average of 11%.

Check out our latest analysis for Fastenal

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Fastenal 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 Fastenal for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

In terms of Fastenal's history of ROCE, it's quite impressive. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 38% and the business has deployed 23% more capital into its operations. Now considering ROCE is an attractive 38%, this combination is actually pretty appealing because it means the business can consistently put money to work and generate these high returns. If Fastenal can keep this up, we'd be very optimistic about its future.

Our Take On Fastenal's ROCE

In short, we'd argue Fastenal has the makings of a multi-bagger since its been able to compound its capital at very profitable rates of return. On top of that, the stock has rewarded shareholders with a remarkable 189% return to those who've held over the last five years. So while investors seem to be recognizing these promising trends, we still believe the stock deserves further research.

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

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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.