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. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in MSA Safety's (NYSE:MSA) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for MSA Safety, this is the formula:

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

0.22 = US$415m ÷ (US$2.2b - US$314m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

Therefore, MSA Safety has an ROCE of 22%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 10% earned by companies in a similar industry.

In the above chart we have measured MSA Safety's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free analyst report for MSA Safety .

How Are Returns Trending?

We like the trends that we're seeing from MSA Safety. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 22%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 34%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

In Conclusion...

A company that is growing its returns on capital and can consistently reinvest in itself is a highly sought after trait, and that's what MSA Safety has. Since the stock has returned a solid 48% to shareholders over the last five years, it's fair to say investors are beginning to recognize these changes. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.

On the other side of ROCE, we have to consider valuation. That's why we have a FREE intrinsic value estimation for MSA 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.

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.