Shareholders Would Enjoy A Repeat Of Hologic's (NASDAQ:HOLX) Recent Growth In Returns

What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing 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. With that in mind, the ROCE of Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) looks great, so lets see what the trend can tell us.

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. The formula for this calculation on Hologic is:

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

0.25 = US$2.0b ÷ (US$9.5b - US$1.3b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).

So, Hologic has an ROCE of 25%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Medical Equipment industry average of 8.5%.

View our latest analysis for Hologic

In the above chart we have measured Hologic'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 Hologic here for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

Investors would be pleased with what's happening at Hologic. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 25%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 30%. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, a combination that's common among multi-baggers.

One more thing to note, Hologic has decreased current liabilities to 14% of total assets over this period, which effectively reduces the amount of funding from suppliers or short-term creditors. Therefore we can rest assured that the growth in ROCE is a result of the business' fundamental improvements, rather than a cooking class featuring this company's books.

What We Can Learn From Hologic's ROCE

In summary, it's great to see that Hologic can compound returns by consistently reinvesting capital at increasing rates of return, because these are some of the key ingredients of those highly sought after multi-baggers. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 82% return over the last five years. 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'd like to know more about Hologic, we've spotted 2 warning signs, and 1 of them is a bit unpleasant.

If you want to search for more stocks that have been earning high returns, check out this free list of stocks with solid balance sheets that are also earning high 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.