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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Dropbox's (NASDAQ:DBX) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Dropbox:

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

0.22 = US$384m ÷ (US$3.0b - US$1.2b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Thus, Dropbox has an ROCE of 22%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 7.7% earned by companies in a similar industry.

In the above chart we have measured Dropbox's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free analyst report for Dropbox .

The Trend Of ROCE

Dropbox has recently broken into profitability so their prior investments seem to be paying off. About five years ago the company was generating losses but things have turned around because it's now earning 22% on its capital. In addition to that, Dropbox is employing 108% more capital than previously which is expected of a company that's trying to break into profitability. 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.

On a separate but related note, it's important to know that Dropbox has a current liabilities to total assets ratio of 40%, which we'd consider pretty high. This can bring about some risks because the company is basically operating with a rather large reliance on its suppliers or other sorts of short-term creditors. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be beneficial if this ratio is lower.

In Conclusion...

In summary, it's great to see that Dropbox has managed to break into profitability and is continuing to reinvest in its business. Since the stock has only returned 6.0% to shareholders over the last five years, the promising fundamentals may not be recognized yet by investors. Given that, we'd look further into this stock in case it has more traits that could make it multiply in the long term.

Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Dropbox (of which 1 is a bit concerning!) that you should know about.

If you want to search for more stocks that have been earning high returns, check out this free list of stocks with solid balance sheets that are also earning high returns on equity.

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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.