If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. However, after investigating Sally Beauty Holdings (NYSE:SBH), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

Understanding 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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Sally Beauty Holdings:

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

0.14 = US$312m ÷ (US$2.7b - US$573m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Therefore, Sally Beauty Holdings has an ROCE of 14%. By itself that's a normal return on capital and it's in line with the industry's average returns of 14%.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Sally Beauty Holdings compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Sally Beauty Holdings for free.

What Can We Tell From Sally Beauty Holdings' ROCE Trend?

In terms of Sally Beauty Holdings' historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 28% over the last five years. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

What We Can Learn From Sally Beauty Holdings' ROCE

Bringing it all together, while we're somewhat encouraged by Sally Beauty Holdings' reinvestment in its own business, we're aware that returns are shrinking. And investors appear hesitant that the trends will pick up because the stock has fallen 28% in the last five years. On the whole, we aren't too inspired by the underlying trends and we think there may be better chances of finding a multi-bagger elsewhere.

If you want to continue researching Sally Beauty Holdings, you might be interested to know about the 1 warning sign that our analysis has discovered.

While Sally Beauty Holdings isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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.