If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount 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 IFB Agro Industries (NSE:IFBAGRO) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.
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. To calculate this metric for IFB Agro Industries, this is the formula:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
0.086 = ₹651m ÷ (₹9.4b - ₹1.9b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2025).
Therefore, IFB Agro Industries has an ROCE of 8.6%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Beverage industry average of 12%.
View our latest analysis for IFB Agro Industries
While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you'd like to look at how IFB Agro Industries has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of IFB Agro Industries' past earnings, revenue and cash flow.
We're glad to see that ROCE is heading in the right direction, even if it is still low at the moment. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 8.6%. 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 85%. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at IFB Agro Industries thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.
All in all, it's terrific to see that IFB Agro Industries is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.
If you want to continue researching IFB Agro Industries, you might be interested to know about the 3 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.
If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list 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.