If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out 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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. That's why when we briefly looked at ALS' (ASX:ALQ) ROCE trend, we were pretty happy with what we saw.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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. The formula for this calculation on ALS is:

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

0.15 = AU$468m ÷ (AU$3.8b - AU$714m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

So, ALS has an ROCE of 15%. That's a relatively normal return on capital, and it's around the 16% generated by the Professional Services industry.

See our latest analysis for ALS

In the above chart we have measured ALS' 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 ALS .

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

While the returns on capital are good, they haven't moved much. The company has consistently earned 15% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 39% in that time. Since 15% is a moderate ROCE though, it's good to see a business can continue to reinvest at these decent rates of return. Stable returns in this ballpark can be unexciting, but if they can be maintained over the long run, they often provide nice rewards to shareholders.

The Bottom Line On ALS' ROCE

To sum it up, ALS has simply been reinvesting capital steadily, at those decent rates of return. And long term investors would be thrilled with the 138% return they've received over the last five years. So while investors seem to be recognizing these promising trends, we still believe the stock deserves further research.

On a final note, we've found 3 warning signs for ALS that we think you should be aware of.

While ALS may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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.