Has Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Got What It Takes To Become A Multi-Bagger?
There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. In light of that, when we looked at Waste Management (NYSE:WM) 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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Waste Management:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.12 = US$2.6b ÷ (US$27b - US$5.8b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2020).
Thus, Waste Management has an ROCE of 12%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Commercial Services industry average of 9.9% it's much better.
See our latest analysis for Waste Management
In the above chart we have measured Waste Management'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 Waste Management.
What Does the ROCE Trend For Waste Management Tell Us?
Things have been pretty stable at Waste Management, with its capital employed and returns on that capital staying somewhat the same for the last five years. Businesses with these traits tend to be mature and steady operations because they're past the growth phase. So unless we see a substantial change at Waste Management in terms of ROCE and additional investments being made, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger. With fewer investment opportunities, it makes sense that Waste Management has been paying out a decent 54% of its earnings to shareholders. Given the business isn't reinvesting in itself, it makes sense to distribute a portion of earnings among shareholders.
In Conclusion...
We can conclude that in regards to Waste Management's returns on capital employed and the trends, there isn't much change to report on. Investors must think there's better things to come because the stock has knocked it out of the park delivering a 147% gain to shareholders who have held over the last five years. Ultimately, if the underlying trends persist, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger going forward.
Waste Management does have some risks though, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Waste Management that you might be interested in.
If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
