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. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. That's why when we briefly looked at ALS' (ASX:ALQ) ROCE trend, we were pretty happy with what we saw.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for ALS:

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

0.15 = AU$468m ÷ (AU$3.8b - AU$714m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

Thus, ALS has an ROCE of 15%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty normal return, and it's somewhat close to the Professional Services industry average of 19%.

Check out our latest analysis for ALS

Above you can see how the current ROCE for ALS compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering ALS for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For ALS Tell Us?

While the current returns on capital are decent, they haven't changed much. The company has consistently earned 15% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 39% in that time. 15% is a pretty standard return, and it provides some comfort knowing that ALS has consistently earned this amount. Stable returns in this ballpark can be unexciting, but if they can be maintained over the long run, they often provide nice rewards to shareholders.

In Conclusion...

The main thing to remember is that ALS has proven its ability to continually reinvest at respectable rates of return. And the stock has followed suit returning a meaningful 81% to shareholders over the last five years. So even though the stock might be more "expensive" than it was before, we think the strong fundamentals warrant this stock for further research.

One more thing, we've spotted 3 warning signs facing ALS that you might find interesting.

While ALS 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.