To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base 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 looked at Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

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Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Freeport-McMoRan, this is the formula:

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

0.14 = US$6.9b ÷ (US$55b - US$5.5b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

So, Freeport-McMoRan has an ROCE of 14%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Metals and Mining industry average of 10% it's much better.

See our latest analysis for Freeport-McMoRan

In the above chart we have measured Freeport-McMoRan's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Freeport-McMoRan for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Freeport-McMoRan Tell Us?

Freeport-McMoRan is displaying some positive trends. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 14%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 31% more capital is being employed now too. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

What We Can Learn From Freeport-McMoRan's ROCE

In summary, it's great to see that Freeport-McMoRan can compound returns by consistently reinvesting capital at increasing rates of return, because these are some of the key ingredients of those highly sought after multi-baggers. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

If you want to continue researching Freeport-McMoRan, you might be interested to know about the 1 warning sign that our analysis has discovered.

While Freeport-McMoRan isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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.