If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. And in light of that, the trends we're seeing at Applied Industrial Technologies' (NYSE:AIT) look very promising so lets take a look.

What Is 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. To calculate this metric for Applied Industrial Technologies, this is the formula:

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

0.21 = US$489m ÷ (US$2.8b - US$449m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Therefore, Applied Industrial Technologies has an ROCE of 21%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Trade Distributors industry average of 14%.

In the above chart we have measured Applied Industrial Technologies' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Applied Industrial Technologies here for free.

So How Is Applied Industrial Technologies' ROCE Trending?

We like the trends that we're seeing from Applied Industrial Technologies. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 21%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 23%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

The Bottom Line

A company that is growing its returns on capital and can consistently reinvest in itself is a highly sought after trait, and that's what Applied Industrial Technologies has. And a remarkable 249% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

Like most companies, Applied Industrial Technologies does come with some risks, and we've found 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.

High returns are a key ingredient to strong performance, so check out our free list ofstocks 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.