If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. So when we looked at the ROCE trend of Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG) we really liked what we saw.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Scorpio Tankers, this is the formula:

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

0.20 = US$713m ÷ (US$3.8b - US$242m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

Thus, Scorpio Tankers has an ROCE of 20%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 12% earned by companies in a similar industry.

View our latest analysis for Scorpio Tankers

In the above chart we have measured Scorpio Tankers' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Scorpio Tankers for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Scorpio Tankers Tell Us?

Scorpio Tankers has not disappointed in regards to ROCE growth. The data shows that returns on capital have increased by 836% over the trailing five years. That's a very favorable trend because this means that the company is earning more per dollar of capital that's being employed. Interestingly, the business may be becoming more efficient because it's applying 23% less capital than it was five years ago. A business that's shrinking its asset base like this isn't usually typical of a soon to be multi-bagger company.

The Bottom Line On Scorpio Tankers' ROCE

In summary, it's great to see that Scorpio Tankers has been able to turn things around and earn higher returns on lower amounts of capital. Since the stock has returned a staggering 116% 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.

One final note, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Scorpio Tankers (including 1 which is a bit concerning) .

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.