Shareholders Would Enjoy A Repeat Of Ternium's (NYSE:TX) 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? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount 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. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Ternium's (NYSE:TX) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?

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 Ternium, this is the formula:

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

0.25 = US$3.1b ÷ (US$15b - US$2.8b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).

So, Ternium has an ROCE of 25%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Metals and Mining industry average of 12%.

Check out our latest analysis for Ternium

roce

In the above chart we have measured Ternium'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 Ternium.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Ternium Tell Us?

Ternium is displaying some positive trends. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 25%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 91%. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at Ternium thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.

Our Take On Ternium's ROCE

To sum it up, Ternium has proven it can reinvest in the business and generate higher returns on that capital employed, which is terrific. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. 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.

One final note, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Ternium (including 1 which is a bit concerning) .

Ternium is not the only stock earning high returns. If you'd like to see more, check out our free list of companies earning high returns on equity with solid fundamentals.

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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