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Will the Promising Trends At J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) Continue?

To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, 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 J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

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 J. M. Smucker, this is the formula:

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

0.10 = US$1.4b ÷ (US$17b - US$2.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to October 2020).

So, J. M. Smucker has an ROCE of 10%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 8.0% generated by the Food industry.

See our latest analysis for J. M. Smucker

roce
roce

Above you can see how the current ROCE for J. M. Smucker compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for J. M. Smucker.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

J. M. Smucker 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 47% 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. On that front, things are looking good so it's worth exploring what management has said about growth plans going forward.

The Key Takeaway

To bring it all together, J. M. Smucker has done well to increase the returns it's generating from its capital employed. Since the stock has only returned 10% to shareholders over the last five years, the promising fundamentals may not be recognized yet by investors. Given that, we'd look further into this stock in case it has more traits that could make it multiply in the long term.

One final note, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with J. M. Smucker (including 1 which is is concerning) .

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

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