The first part of this thesis explains the definition of export, its determinants and its importance for economic growth and development. The determinants of the trade policy of the Republic of Croatia and its position in global value chains are also explained. The second part focuses on the connection between capital investments and the export performance of the company. It also mentions product life cycle theory as a link to explained investment and exports. Investments in capital lead to the creation of new jobs, new technological knowledge and achievements, growth of production, and thus increased competitive advantages of companies that allow them to enter new markets, as well as increase their share in existing ones. In accordance with the theoretical part, an analysis of exports, their performance and return on capital employed in the observed period from 2006 to 2015 is carried out for the 285 largest Croatian export companies. All important categories necessary for making a conclusion about the connection between return on capital employed and export performance of Croatian export companies for the observed period are analyzed. Export companies were first divided according to the types of activities and industries to which they belong, then employment in 2015 and the location of the companies themselves were analyzed. Finally, the total assets of companies in the observed period, their invested capital, earnings before interest and taxes and the return on capital employed, which is analyzed by industry and selected companies. For the purposes of analysis, secondary data sources are used, ie. Amadeus base in the period from 2005 to 2016. In addition, data from other publicly available databases are displayed, while Excel is used to create tables and charts.