If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. 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. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. In light of that, when we looked at Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Broadridge Financial Solutions:

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

0.17 = US$683m ÷ (US$4.9b - US$838m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

Therefore, Broadridge Financial Solutions has an ROCE of 17%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 11% generated by the IT industry.

View our latest analysis for Broadridge Financial Solutions

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Broadridge Financial Solutions 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 Broadridge Financial Solutions here for free.

How Are Returns Trending?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Broadridge Financial Solutions doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 25% over the last five years. On the other hand, the company has been employing more capital without a corresponding improvement in sales in the last year, which could suggest these investments are longer term plays. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

The Bottom Line

To conclude, we've found that Broadridge Financial Solutions is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. Yet to long term shareholders the stock has gifted them an incredible 187% return in the last five years, so the market appears to be rosy about its future. But if the trajectory of these underlying trends continue, we think the likelihood of it being a multi-bagger from here isn't high.

On a separate note, we've found 2 warning signs for Broadridge Financial Solutions 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.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

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