Many Would Be Envious Of Edwards Lifesciences' (NYSE:EW) Excellent Returns On Capital

To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? 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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. So, when we ran our eye over Edwards Lifesciences' (NYSE:EW) trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Edwards Lifesciences:

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

0.22 = US$1.6b ÷ (US$8.4b - US$950m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).

So, Edwards Lifesciences has an ROCE of 22%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Medical Equipment industry average of 8.7%.

See our latest analysis for Edwards Lifesciences

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Edwards Lifesciences compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

What Can We Tell From Edwards Lifesciences' ROCE Trend?

We'd be pretty happy with returns on capital like Edwards Lifesciences. The company has consistently earned 22% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 78% in that time. Now considering ROCE is an attractive 22%, this combination is actually pretty appealing because it means the business can consistently put money to work and generate these high returns. You'll see this when looking at well operated businesses or favorable business models.

Our Take On Edwards Lifesciences' ROCE

Edwards Lifesciences has demonstrated its proficiency by generating high returns on increasing amounts of capital employed, which we're thrilled about. And the stock has done incredibly well with a 177% return over the last five years, so long term investors are no doubt ecstatic with that result. So while the positive underlying trends may be accounted for by investors, we still think this stock is worth looking into further.

One more thing, we've spotted 1 warning sign facing Edwards Lifesciences that you might find interesting.

Edwards Lifesciences is not the only stock earning high returns. If you'd like to see more, check out our free list of companies earning high returns on equity with solid fundamentals.

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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.

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