We Like Monolithic Power Systems' (NASDAQ:MPWR) Returns And Here's How They're Trending

Simply Wall St
·2 min read

If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. 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. With that in mind, the ROCE of Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ:MPWR) looks great, so lets see what the trend can tell us.

What is 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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Monolithic Power Systems:

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

0.22 = US$319m ÷ (US$1.7b - US$273m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2022).

Thus, Monolithic Power Systems has an ROCE of 22%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Semiconductor industry average of 13%.

Check out our latest analysis for Monolithic Power Systems

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Above you can see how the current ROCE for Monolithic Power Systems 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.

So How Is Monolithic Power Systems' ROCE Trending?

Monolithic Power Systems is displaying some positive trends. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 22%. 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 200%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

The Key Takeaway

In summary, it's great to see that Monolithic Power Systems 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 a remarkable 345% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Monolithic Power Systems can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

On a separate note, we've found 1 warning sign for Monolithic Power Systems you'll probably want to know about.

Monolithic Power Systems 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.