Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? 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. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. However, after investigating Foundation Building Materials (NYSE:FBM), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

What is 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. To calculate this metric for Foundation Building Materials, this is the formula:

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

0.07 = US$77m ÷ (US$1.3b - US$240m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

Therefore, Foundation Building Materials has an ROCE of 7.0%. On its own, that's a low figure but it's around the 8.2% average generated by the Trade Distributors industry.

See our latest analysis for Foundation Building Materials

In the above chart we have measured Foundation Building Materials' 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 Foundation Building Materials here for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

The returns on capital haven't changed much for Foundation Building Materials in recent years. The company has employed 115% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 7.0%. This poor ROCE doesn't inspire confidence right now, and with the increase in capital employed, it's evident that the business isn't deploying the funds into high return investments.

In Conclusion...

In conclusion, Foundation Building Materials has been investing more capital into the business, but returns on that capital haven't increased. Since the stock has gained an impressive 23% over the last three years, investors must think there's better things to come. But if the trajectory of these underlying trends continue, we think the likelihood of it being a multi-bagger from here isn't high.

If you want to know some of the risks facing Foundation Building Materials we've found 2 warning signs (1 shouldn't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

While Foundation Building Materials 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.

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.

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