Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount 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. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think F5 (NASDAQ:FFIV) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for F5:

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

0.16 = US$631m ÷ (US$5.4b - US$1.5b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

Thus, F5 has an ROCE of 16%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Communications industry average of 7.5% it's much better.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for F5 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 analyst report for F5 .

What Does the ROCE Trend For F5 Tell Us?

In terms of F5's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 16% from 33% five years ago. However it looks like F5 might be reinvesting for long term growth because while capital employed has increased, the company's sales haven't changed much in the last 12 months. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

The Bottom Line

Bringing it all together, while we're somewhat encouraged by F5's reinvestment in its own business, we're aware that returns are shrinking. And investors may be recognizing these trends since the stock has only returned a total of 13% to shareholders over the last five years. Therefore, if you're looking for a multi-bagger, we'd propose looking at other options.

If you're still interested in F5 it's worth checking out our FREE intrinsic value approximation for FFIV to see if it's trading at an attractive price in other respects.

While F5 may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.