If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Having said that, while the ROCE is currently high for NIKE (NYSE:NKE), we aren't jumping out of our chairs because returns are decreasing.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. To calculate this metric for NIKE, this is the formula:

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

0.21 = US$5.8b ÷ (US$37b - US$8.5b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to August 2023).

Therefore, NIKE has an ROCE of 21%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 13% earned by companies in a similar industry.

View our latest analysis for NIKE

In the above chart we have measured NIKE's 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 report for NIKE.

The Trend Of ROCE

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at NIKE doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, while the ROCE is still high, it's fallen from 30% where it was five years ago. However it looks like NIKE 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's worth keeping an eye on the company's earnings from here on to see if these investments do end up contributing to the bottom line.

The Bottom Line On NIKE's ROCE

To conclude, we've found that NIKE is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. Although the market must be expecting these trends to improve because the stock has gained 41% over the last five years. However, unless these underlying trends turn more positive, we wouldn't get our hopes up too high.

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

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.

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.