If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to 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. So on that note, Hayward Holdings (NYSE:HAYW) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

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 Hayward Holdings, this is the formula:

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

0.07 = US$188m ÷ (US$2.9b - US$240m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Thus, Hayward Holdings has an ROCE of 7.0%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Building industry average of 16%.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Hayward Holdings compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free analyst report for Hayward Holdings .

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Hayward Holdings' ROCE growth is quite impressive. More specifically, while the company has kept capital employed relatively flat over the last four years, the ROCE has climbed 108% in that same time. So it's likely that the business is now reaping the full benefits of its past investments, since the capital employed hasn't changed considerably. It's worth looking deeper into this though because while it's great that the business is more efficient, it might also mean that going forward the areas to invest internally for the organic growth are lacking.

The Key Takeaway

In summary, we're delighted to see that Hayward Holdings has been able to increase efficiencies and earn higher rates of return on the same amount of capital. And with a respectable 17% awarded to those who held the stock over the last year, you could argue that these developments are starting to get the attention they deserve. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

On a final note, we found 2 warning signs for Hayward Holdings (1 shouldn't be ignored) you should be aware of.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and 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.