Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Although, when we looked at Berry Global Group (NYSE:BERY), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

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

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. To calculate this metric for Berry Global Group, this is the formula:

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

0.083 = US$1.1b ÷ (US$16b - US$2.4b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Thus, Berry Global Group has an ROCE of 8.3%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Packaging industry average of 11%.

In the above chart we have measured Berry Global Group's 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 Berry Global Group .

So How Is Berry Global Group's ROCE Trending?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Berry Global Group, we didn't gain much confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 10% over the last five years. And considering revenue has dropped while employing more capital, we'd be cautious. 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.

The Key Takeaway

From the above analysis, we find it rather worrisome that returns on capital and sales for Berry Global Group have fallen, meanwhile the business is employing more capital than it was five years ago. In spite of that, the stock has delivered a 8.8% return to shareholders who held over the last five years. Either way, we aren't huge fans of the current trends and so with that we think you might find better investments elsewhere.

On a final note, we found 2 warning signs for Berry Global Group (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable) 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.