CDW (NASDAQ:CDW) Knows How To Allocate Capital

To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. That's why when we briefly looked at CDW's (NASDAQ:CDW) ROCE trend, we were very happy with 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. To calculate this metric for CDW, this is the formula:

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

0.22 = US$1.8b ÷ (US$13b - US$4.8b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2023).

Thus, CDW has an ROCE of 22%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Electronic industry average of 13%.

View our latest analysis for CDW

roce

Above you can see how the current ROCE for CDW compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

So How Is CDW's ROCE Trending?

In terms of CDW's history of ROCE, it's quite impressive. The company has consistently earned 22% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 80% in that time. Returns like this are the envy of most businesses and given it has repeatedly reinvested at these rates, that's even better. You'll see this when looking at well operated businesses or favorable business models.

The Bottom Line On CDW's ROCE

CDW has demonstrated its proficiency by generating high returns on increasing amounts of capital employed, which we're thrilled about. On top of that, the stock has rewarded shareholders with a remarkable 115% return to those who've held over the last five years. So even though the stock might be more "expensive" than it was before, we think the strong fundamentals warrant this stock for further research.

One more thing to note, we've identified 1 warning sign with CDW and understanding it should be part of your investment process.

High returns are a key ingredient to strong performance, so check out our free list ofstocks earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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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