If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So when we looked at H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

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. The formula for this calculation on H World Group is:

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

0.10 = CN¥5.2b ÷ (CN¥62b - CN¥12b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

Thus, H World Group has an ROCE of 10%. That's a pretty standard return and it's in line with the industry average of 10%.

Check out our latest analysis for H World Group

In the above chart we have measured H World Group's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering H World Group for free.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Investors would be pleased with what's happening at H World Group. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 10%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 52%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

The Key Takeaway

A company that is growing its returns on capital and can consistently reinvest in itself is a highly sought after trait, and that's what H World Group has. And given the stock has remained rather flat over the last five years, there might be an opportunity here if other metrics are strong. So researching this company further and determining whether or not these trends will continue seems justified.

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

While H World Group 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.