If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base 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. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at comScore (NASDAQ:SCOR) so let's look a bit deeper.

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 comScore:

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

0.047 = US$13m ÷ (US$412m - US$144m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

So, comScore has an ROCE of 4.7%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Media industry average of 9.9%.

Check out our latest analysis for comScore

In the above chart we have measured comScore'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 comScore for free.

So How Is comScore's ROCE Trending?

It's great to see that comScore has started to generate some pre-tax earnings from prior investments. The company was generating losses five years ago, but now it's turned around, earning 4.7% which is no doubt a relief for some early shareholders. Additionally, the business is utilizing 50% 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. This could potentially mean that the company is selling some of its assets.

On a side note, we noticed that the improvement in ROCE appears to be partly fueled by an increase in current liabilities. Essentially the business now has suppliers or short-term creditors funding about 35% of its operations, which isn't ideal. Keep an eye out for future increases because when the ratio of current liabilities to total assets gets particularly high, this can introduce some new risks for the business.

The Bottom Line

In a nutshell, we're pleased to see that comScore has been able to generate higher returns from less capital. Although the company may be facing some issues elsewhere since the stock has plunged 92% in the last five years. Regardless, we think the underlying fundamentals warrant this stock for further investigation.

One more thing to note, we've identified 2 warning signs with comScore and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

While comScore 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.