If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. And in light of that, the trends we're seeing at Spark New Zealand's (NZSE:SPK) look very promising so lets take a look.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

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. The formula for this calculation on Spark New Zealand is:

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

0.35 = NZ$1.3b ÷ (NZ$4.5b - NZ$850m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

So, Spark New Zealand has an ROCE of 35%.  That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 8.3% earned by companies in a similar industry.

View our latest analysis for Spark New Zealand  roce

In the above chart we have measured Spark New Zealand's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our freereport on analyst forecasts for the company.

So How Is Spark New Zealand's ROCE Trending?

Spark New Zealand is showing promise given that its ROCE is trending up and to the right. Looking at the data, we can see that even though capital employed in the business has remained relatively flat, the ROCE generated has risen by 95% over the last five years. Basically the business is generating higher returns from the same amount of capital and that is proof that there are improvements in the company's efficiencies. It's worth looking deeper into this though because while it's great that the business is more efficient, it might also mean that going forward the areas to invest internally for the organic growth are lacking.



The Bottom Line On Spark New Zealand's ROCE

As discussed above, Spark New Zealand appears to be getting more proficient at generating returns since capital employed has remained flat but earnings (before interest and tax) are up. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 67% return over the last five years. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

If you want to know some of the risks facing Spark New Zealand we've found 4 warning signs (2 make us uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you'd like to see other companies earning high returns, check out our freelist of companies earning high returns with solid balance sheets here.

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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.