If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. 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 Centene (NYSE:CNC) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

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. To calculate this metric for Centene, this is the formula:

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

0.097 = US$4.9b ÷ (US$83b - US$33b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

Therefore, Centene has an ROCE of 9.7%. In absolute terms, that's a low return but it's around the Healthcare industry average of 11%.

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

So How Is Centene's ROCE Trending?

In terms of Centene's historical ROCE trend, it doesn't exactly demand attention. The company has consistently earned 9.7% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 144% 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 Bottom Line On Centene's ROCE

As we've seen above, Centene's returns on capital haven't increased but it is reinvesting in the business. And investors may be recognizing these trends since the stock has only returned a total of 28% to shareholders over the last five years. Therefore, if you're looking for a multi-bagger, we'd propose looking at other options.

While Centene doesn't shine too bright in this respect, it's still worth seeing if the company is trading at attractive prices. You can find that out with our FREE intrinsic value estimation for CNC on our platform.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and 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.