Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? 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. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in AIXTRON's (ETR:AIXA) returns on capital, so let's have a look.
If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on AIXTRON is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.14 = €121m ÷ (€1.0b - €141m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2025).
Therefore, AIXTRON has an ROCE of 14%. That's a relatively normal return on capital, and it's around the 13% generated by the Semiconductor industry.
View our latest analysis for AIXTRON
Above you can see how the current ROCE for AIXTRON compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free analyst report for AIXTRON .
We like the trends that we're seeing from AIXTRON. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 14%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 83%. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, a combination that's common among multi-baggers.
All in all, it's terrific to see that AIXTRON is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. Since the stock has only returned 27% to shareholders over the last five years, the promising fundamentals may not be recognized yet by investors. So exploring more about this stock could uncover a good opportunity, if the valuation and other metrics stack up.
If you want to continue researching AIXTRON, you might be interested to know about the 1 warning sign that our analysis has discovered.
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.
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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.