To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? 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. So when we looked at the ROCE trend of Ternium (NYSE:TX) we really 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. The formula for this calculation on Ternium is:

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

0.26 = US$4.0b ÷ (US$17b - US$2.1b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

So, Ternium has an ROCE of 26%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 18% earned by companies in a similar industry.

See our latest analysis for Ternium

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Ternium compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Ternium here for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

Ternium is displaying some positive trends. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 26%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 78% more capital is being employed now too. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at Ternium thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.

In another part of our analysis, we noticed that the company's ratio of current liabilities to total assets decreased to 12%, which broadly means the business is relying less on its suppliers or short-term creditors to fund its operations. So this improvement in ROCE has come from the business' underlying economics, which is great to see.

In Conclusion...

To sum it up, Ternium has proven it can reinvest in the business and generate higher returns on that capital employed, which is terrific. Since the stock has returned a solid 50% to shareholders over the last five years, it's fair to say investors are beginning to recognize these changes. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

One final note, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Ternium (including 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) .

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.