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Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Hasn't Managed To Accelerate Its Returns

If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base 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. So, when we ran our eye over Waste Management's (NYSE:WM) trend of ROCE, we liked what we saw.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Waste Management:

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

0.12 = US$2.9b ÷ (US$29b - US$3.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).

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Therefore, Waste Management has an ROCE of 12%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Commercial Services industry average of 7.8% it's much better.

Check out our latest analysis for Waste Management

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In the above chart we have measured Waste Management'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 Waste Management.

The Trend Of ROCE

The trend of ROCE doesn't stand out much, but returns on a whole are decent. The company has consistently earned 12% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 41% in that time. 12% is a pretty standard return, and it provides some comfort knowing that Waste Management has consistently earned this amount. Over long periods of time, returns like these might not be too exciting, but with consistency they can pay off in terms of share price returns.

In Conclusion...

To sum it up, Waste Management has simply been reinvesting capital steadily, at those decent rates of return. And long term investors would be thrilled with the 168% return they've received over the last five years. So while the positive underlying trends may be accounted for by investors, we still think this stock is worth looking into further.

One more thing to note, we've identified 2 warning signs with Waste Management and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.

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.

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