If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base 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. So on that note, Leidos Holdings (NYSE:LDOS) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

What Is 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 Leidos Holdings is:

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

0.19 = US$1.8b ÷ (US$13b - US$3.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to January 2025).

Thus, Leidos Holdings has an ROCE of 19%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty normal return, and it's somewhat close to the Professional Services industry average of 16%.

See our latest analysis for Leidos Holdings

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Leidos Holdings 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 Leidos Holdings for free.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

We like the trends that we're seeing from Leidos Holdings. Over the last five years, returns on capital employed have risen substantially to 19%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 34% more capital is being employed now too. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

The Bottom Line On Leidos Holdings' ROCE

All in all, it's terrific to see that Leidos Holdings is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. Investors may not be impressed by the favorable underlying trends yet because over the last five years the stock has only returned 32% to shareholders. So exploring more about this stock could uncover a good opportunity, if the valuation and other metrics stack up.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing Leidos Holdings, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.

While Leidos Holdings 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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