Investors Should Be Encouraged By Ryerson Holding's (NYSE:RYI) Returns On Capital

If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base 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. So when we looked at the ROCE trend of Ryerson Holding (NYSE:RYI) 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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Ryerson Holding:

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

0.47 = US$849m ÷ (US$2.7b - US$882m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).

Thus, Ryerson Holding has an ROCE of 47%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Metals and Mining industry average of 20%.

Check out our latest analysis for Ryerson Holding

In the above chart we have measured Ryerson Holding's 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 Ryerson Holding here for free.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Investors would be pleased with what's happening at Ryerson Holding. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 47%. 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 35%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

The Key Takeaway

To sum it up, Ryerson Holding has proven it can reinvest in the business and generate higher returns on that capital employed, which is terrific. 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.

Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 5 warning signs for Ryerson Holding (of which 2 make us uncomfortable!) that you should know about.

Ryerson Holding is not the only stock earning high returns. If you'd like to see more, check out our free list of companies earning high returns on equity with solid fundamentals.

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.

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