If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount 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. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.

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 Hyatt Hotels, this is the formula:

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

0.037 = US$371m ÷ (US$12b - US$2.4b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, Hyatt Hotels has an ROCE of 3.7%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Hospitality industry average of 9.4%.

See our latest analysis for Hyatt Hotels

In the above chart we have measured Hyatt Hotels' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Hyatt Hotels.

What Can We Tell From Hyatt Hotels' ROCE Trend?

There are better returns on capital out there than what we're seeing at Hyatt Hotels. The company has employed 45% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 3.7%. Given the company has increased the amount of capital employed, it appears the investments that have been made simply don't provide a high return on capital.

The Key Takeaway

Long story short, while Hyatt Hotels has been reinvesting its capital, the returns that it's generating haven't increased. Since the stock has gained an impressive 56% over the last five years, investors must think there's better things to come. However, unless these underlying trends turn more positive, we wouldn't get our hopes up too high.

If you want to continue researching Hyatt Hotels, you might be interested to know about the 1 warning sign that our analysis has discovered.

While Hyatt Hotels may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.