If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding 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. So on that note, DRDGOLD (NYSE:DRD) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

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 DRDGOLD, this is the formula:

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

0.19 = R1.4b ÷ (R8.3b - R757m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

So, DRDGOLD has an ROCE of 19%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Metals and Mining industry average of 8.9% it's much better.

View our latest analysis for DRDGOLD

In the above chart we have measured DRDGOLD's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for DRDGOLD .

What Can We Tell From DRDGOLD's ROCE Trend?

We're delighted to see that DRDGOLD is reaping rewards from its investments and is now generating some pre-tax profits. The company was generating losses five years ago, but now it's earning 19% which is a sight for sore eyes. And unsurprisingly, like most companies trying to break into the black, DRDGOLD is utilizing 102% more capital than it was five years ago. We like this trend, because it tells us the company has profitable reinvestment opportunities available to it, and if it continues going forward that can lead to a multi-bagger performance.

In Conclusion...

Overall, DRDGOLD gets a big tick from us thanks in most part to the fact that it is now profitable and is reinvesting in its business. 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.

One more thing: We've identified 2 warning signs with DRDGOLD (at least 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) , and understanding them would certainly be useful.