If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? 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. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. So when we looked at Children's Place (NASDAQ:PLCE) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free.

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. To calculate this metric for Children's Place, this is the formula:

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

0.11 = US$25m ÷ (US$780m - US$544m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to May 2025).

Thus, Children's Place has an ROCE of 11%. That's a relatively normal return on capital, and it's around the 13% generated by the Specialty Retail industry.

See our latest analysis for Children's Place

In the above chart we have measured Children's Place'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 analyst report for Children's Place .

What Does the ROCE Trend For Children's Place Tell Us?

We're delighted to see that Children's Place is reaping rewards from its investments and has now broken into profitability. While the business is profitable now, it used to be incurring losses on invested capital five years ago. Additionally, the business is utilizing 44% less capital than it was five years ago, and taken at face value, that can mean the company needs less funds at work to get a return. The reduction could indicate that the company is selling some assets, and considering returns are up, they appear to be selling the right ones.

Another thing to note, Children's Place has a high ratio of current liabilities to total assets of 70%. This can bring about some risks because the company is basically operating with a rather large reliance on its suppliers or other sorts of short-term creditors. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be beneficial if this ratio is lower.

In Conclusion...

In a nutshell, we're pleased to see that Children's Place has been able to generate higher returns from less capital. Although the company may be facing some issues elsewhere since the stock has plunged 74% in the last five years. Still, it's worth doing some further research to see if the trends will continue into the future.

Like most companies, Children's Place does come with some risks, and we've found 4 warning signs that you should be aware of.

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

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.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.