To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. So on that note, Clarkson (LON:CKN) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

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What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. To calculate this metric for Clarkson, this is the formula:

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

0.19 = UK£102m ÷ (UK£900m - UK£359m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

Therefore, Clarkson has an ROCE of 19%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 8.9% generated by the Shipping industry.

See our latest analysis for Clarkson LSE:CKN Return on Capital Employed May 18th 2025

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

So How Is Clarkson's ROCE Trending?

Investors would be pleased with what's happening at Clarkson. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 19%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 21%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

For the record though, there was a noticeable increase in the company's current liabilities over the period, so we would attribute some of the ROCE growth to that. The current liabilities has increased to 40% of total assets, so the business is now more funded by the likes of its suppliers or short-term creditors. 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.

In Conclusion...

All in all, it's terrific to see that Clarkson is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 74% return over the last five years. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Clarkson can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

Story Continues

Clarkson does have some risks, we noticed  3 warning signs  (and 1 which is a bit concerning)  we think you should know about.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this freelist of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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.

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