If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. 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. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Certara's (NASDAQ:CERT) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

Understanding 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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Certara:

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

0.0098 = US$14m ÷ (US$1.6b - US$130m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

So, Certara has an ROCE of 1.0%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Healthcare Services industry average of 6.2%.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Certara 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 Certara for free.

What Can We Tell From Certara's ROCE Trend?

The fact that Certara is now generating some pre-tax profits from its prior investments is very encouraging. Shareholders would no doubt be pleased with this because the business was loss-making five years ago but is is now generating 1.0% on its capital. And unsurprisingly, like most companies trying to break into the black, Certara is utilizing 45% more capital than it was five years ago. This can tell us that the company has plenty of reinvestment opportunities that are able to generate higher returns.

The Bottom Line

In summary, it's great to see that Certara has managed to break into profitability and is continuing to reinvest in its business. Astute investors may have an opportunity here because the stock has declined 31% in the last three years. With that in mind, we believe the promising trends warrant this stock for further investigation.

On the other side of ROCE, we have to consider valuation. That's why we have a FREE intrinsic value estimation for CERT on our platform that is definitely worth checking out.

While Certara 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.