If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? 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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. However, after investigating Dayforce (NYSE:DAY), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Dayforce:

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

0.029 = US$110m ÷ (US$9.0b - US$5.3b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

Thus, Dayforce has an ROCE of 2.9%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Professional Services industry average of 14%.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Dayforce 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 Dayforce .

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

The returns on capital haven't changed much for Dayforce in recent years. The company has consistently earned 2.9% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 43% in that time. 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.

Another thing to note, Dayforce has a high ratio of current liabilities to total assets of 58%. This effectively means that suppliers (or short-term creditors) are funding a large portion of the business, so just be aware that this can introduce some elements of risk. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be beneficial if this ratio is lower.

The Key Takeaway

In conclusion, Dayforce has been investing more capital into the business, but returns on that capital haven't increased. And with the stock having returned a mere 23% in the last five years to shareholders, you could argue that they're aware of these lackluster trends. As a result, if you're hunting for a multi-bagger, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.

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

While Dayforce 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.