Deere (NYSE:DE) Is Doing The Right Things To Multiply Its Share Price

There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next 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. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Deere's (NYSE:DE) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

Understanding 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 Deere, this is the formula:

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

0.18 = US$10b ÷ (US$90b - US$33b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to October 2022).

Therefore, Deere has an ROCE of 18%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 11% generated by the Machinery industry.

View our latest analysis for Deere

In the above chart we have measured Deere'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 report for Deere.

So How Is Deere's ROCE Trending?

We like the trends that we're seeing from Deere. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 18%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 32%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

What We Can Learn From Deere's ROCE

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 Deere has. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. 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.

If you want to continue researching Deere, you might be interested to know about the 1 warning sign that our analysis has discovered.

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.

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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.

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