What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount 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. So, when we ran our eye over Chemed's (NYSE:CHE) trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Chemed is:

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

0.25 = US$314m ÷ (US$1.6b - US$297m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, Chemed has an ROCE of 25%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Healthcare industry average of 9.9%.

Check out our latest analysis for Chemed

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Chemed compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Chemed.

The Trend Of ROCE

It's hard not to be impressed by Chemed's returns on capital. The company has employed 58% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 25%. Now considering ROCE is an attractive 25%, this combination is actually pretty appealing because it means the business can consistently put money to work and generate these high returns. If Chemed can keep this up, we'd be very optimistic about its future.

The Bottom Line On Chemed's ROCE

In short, we'd argue Chemed has the makings of a multi-bagger since its been able to compound its capital at very profitable rates of return. And the stock has done incredibly well with a 107% return over the last five years, so long term investors are no doubt ecstatic with that result. So even though the stock might be more "expensive" than it was before, we think the strong fundamentals warrant this stock for further research.

On a separate note, we've found 1 warning sign for Chemed you'll probably want to know about.

High returns are a key ingredient to strong performance, so check out our free list ofstocks earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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.