There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. However, after investigating ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (NYSE:ZIM), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

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 ZIM Integrated Shipping Services:

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

0.052 = US$367m ÷ (US$9.7b - US$2.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

Therefore, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services has an ROCE of 5.2%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Shipping industry average of 9.2%.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for ZIM Integrated Shipping Services compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for ZIM Integrated Shipping Services .

What Can We Tell From ZIM Integrated Shipping Services' ROCE Trend?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, we didn't gain much confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 8.5% over the last five years. Given the business is employing more capital while revenue has slipped, this is a bit concerning. This could mean that the business is losing its competitive advantage or market share, because while more money is being put into ventures, it's actually producing a lower return - "less bang for their buck" per se.

On a side note, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services has done well to pay down its current liabilities to 28% of total assets. So we could link some of this to the decrease in ROCE. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE.

In Conclusion...

From the above analysis, we find it rather worrisome that returns on capital and sales for ZIM Integrated Shipping Services have fallen, meanwhile the business is employing more capital than it was five years ago. Long term shareholders who've owned the stock over the last three years have experienced a 16% depreciation in their investment, so it appears the market might not like these trends either. With underlying trends that aren't great in these areas, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

One more thing, we've spotted 2 warning signs facing ZIM Integrated Shipping Services that you might find interesting.

While ZIM Integrated Shipping Services 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.

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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.