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. In light of that, when we looked at Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

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 Merit Medical Systems:

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

0.06 = US$127m ÷ (US$2.3b - US$204m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Therefore, Merit Medical Systems has an ROCE of 6.0%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Medical Equipment industry average of 9.6%.

In the above chart we have measured Merit Medical Systems' 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 analyst report for Merit Medical Systems .

What Does the ROCE Trend For Merit Medical Systems Tell Us?

There are better returns on capital out there than what we're seeing at Merit Medical Systems. The company has consistently earned 6.0% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 47% in that time. Given the company has increased the amount of capital employed, it appears the investments that have been made simply don't provide a high return on capital.

The Key Takeaway

In conclusion, Merit Medical Systems has been investing more capital into the business, but returns on that capital haven't increased. Unsurprisingly, the stock has only gained 24% over the last five years, which potentially indicates that investors are accounting for this going forward. Therefore, if you're looking for a multi-bagger, we'd propose looking at other options.

Merit Medical Systems could be trading at an attractive price in other respects, so you might find our free intrinsic value estimation for MMSI on our platform quite valuable.

While Merit Medical Systems isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are 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.