What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. Although, when we looked at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NYSE:NCLH), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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 Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, this is the formula:

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

0.086 = US$1.1b ÷ (US$20b - US$6.6b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

Thus, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has an ROCE of 8.6%. In absolute terms, that's a low return but it's around the Hospitality industry average of 11%.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings 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 Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings .

The Trend Of ROCE

There hasn't been much to report for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings' returns and its level of capital employed because both metrics have been steady for the past five years. This tells us the company isn't reinvesting in itself, so it's plausible that it's past the growth phase. So unless we see a substantial change at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings in terms of ROCE and additional investments being made, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger.

On another note, while the change in ROCE trend might not scream for attention, it's interesting that the current liabilities have actually gone up over the last five years. This is intriguing because if current liabilities hadn't increased to 33% of total assets, this reported ROCE would probably be less than8.6% because total capital employed would be higher.The 8.6% ROCE could be even lower if current liabilities weren't 33% of total assets, because the the formula would show a larger base of total capital employed. So while current liabilities isn't high right now, keep an eye out in case it increases further, because this can introduce some elements of risk.

The Bottom Line

We can conclude that in regards to Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings' returns on capital employed and the trends, there isn't much change to report on. And investors appear hesitant that the trends will pick up because the stock has fallen 62% in the last five years. Therefore based on the analysis done in this article, we don't think Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has the makings of a multi-bagger.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings does have some risks though, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings that you might be interested in.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com