Returns On Capital At American Woodmark (NASDAQ:AMWD) Have Stalled
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. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. In light of that, when we looked at American Woodmark (NASDAQ:AMWD) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.
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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for American Woodmark:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.084 = US$117m ÷ (US$1.6b - US$168m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to January 2023).
Thus, American Woodmark has an ROCE of 8.4%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Building industry average of 14%.
See our latest analysis for American Woodmark
In the above chart we have measured American Woodmark's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for American Woodmark.
So How Is American Woodmark's ROCE Trending?
Over the past five years, American Woodmark's ROCE and capital employed have both remained mostly flat. This tells us the company isn't reinvesting in itself, so it's plausible that it's past the growth phase. So unless we see a substantial change at American Woodmark in terms of ROCE and additional investments being made, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger.
The Bottom Line On American Woodmark's ROCE
In a nutshell, American Woodmark has been trudging along with the same returns from the same amount of capital over the last five years. And investors appear hesitant that the trends will pick up because the stock has fallen 46% in the last five years. Therefore based on the analysis done in this article, we don't think American Woodmark has the makings of a multi-bagger.
If you'd like to know about the risks facing American Woodmark, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.
If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive 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.
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