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. 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 Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.

Understanding 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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Darden Restaurants:

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

0.14 = US$1.3b ÷ (US$11b - US$2.3b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to February 2024).

So, Darden Restaurants has an ROCE of 14%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 9.5% generated by the Hospitality industry.

In the above chart we have measured Darden Restaurants' 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 Darden Restaurants .

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Darden Restaurants, we didn't gain much confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 14% from 20% five years ago. On the other hand, the company has been employing more capital without a corresponding improvement in sales in the last year, which could suggest these investments are longer term plays. It's worth keeping an eye on the company's earnings from here on to see if these investments do end up contributing to the bottom line.

The Bottom Line

In summary, Darden Restaurants is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. Although the market must be expecting these trends to improve because the stock has gained 57% over the last five years. However, unless these underlying trends turn more positive, we wouldn't get our hopes up too high.

On a final note, we've found 2 warning signs for Darden Restaurants that we think you should be aware of.

While Darden Restaurants isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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.