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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. In light of that, when we looked at Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

What Is 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. To calculate this metric for Hyatt Hotels, this is the formula:

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

0.035 = US$316m ÷ (US$12b - US$2.9b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

Thus, Hyatt Hotels has an ROCE of 3.5%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Hospitality industry average of 8.7%.

In the above chart we have measured Hyatt Hotels' 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 Hyatt Hotels .

What Does the ROCE Trend For Hyatt Hotels Tell Us?

The returns on capital haven't changed much for Hyatt Hotels in recent years. The company has consistently earned 3.5% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 26% in that time. This poor ROCE doesn't inspire confidence right now, and with the increase in capital employed, it's evident that the business isn't deploying the funds into high return investments.

Another point to note, we noticed the company has increased current liabilities over the last five years. This is intriguing because if current liabilities hadn't increased to 25% of total assets, this reported ROCE would probably be less than3.5% because total capital employed would be higher.The 3.5% ROCE could be even lower if current liabilities weren't 25% of total assets, because the the formula would show a larger base of total capital employed. With that in mind, just be wary if this ratio increases in the future, because if it gets particularly high, this brings with it some new elements of risk.

The Key Takeaway

As we've seen above, Hyatt Hotels' returns on capital haven't increased but it is reinvesting in the business. Although the market must be expecting these trends to improve because the stock has gained 93% over the last five years. However, unless these underlying trends turn more positive, we wouldn't get our hopes up too high.

If you want to know some of the risks facing Hyatt Hotels we've found 3 warning signs (1 is concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive 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.