Yahoo Finance Brown-Forman (NYSE:BF.B) Is Aiming To Keep Up Its Impressive Returns
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. Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. So, when we ran our eye over Brown-Forman's (NYSE:BF.B) trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.
What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?
For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Brown-Forman:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.23 = US$1.3b ÷ (US$6.9b - US$1.2b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to October 2022).
Thus, Brown-Forman has an ROCE of 23%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Beverage industry average of 14%.
Check out our latest analysis for Brown-Forman
In the above chart we have measured Brown-Forman'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 Brown-Forman.
What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us
It's hard not to be impressed by Brown-Forman's returns on capital. The company has consistently earned 23% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 43% 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. If Brown-Forman can keep this up, we'd be very optimistic about its future.
Our Take On Brown-Forman's ROCE
In summary, we're delighted to see that Brown-Forman has been compounding returns by reinvesting at consistently high rates of return, as these are common traits of a multi-bagger. In light of this, the stock has only gained 32% over the last five years for shareholders who have owned the stock in this period. So because of the trends we're seeing, we'd recommend looking further into this stock to see if it has the makings of a multi-bagger.
Like most companies, Brown-Forman does come with some risks, and we've found 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.
If you want to search for more stocks that have been earning high returns, check out this free list of stocks with solid balance sheets that are also earning high 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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