There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. So when we looked at Chefs' Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

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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 Chefs' Warehouse:

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

0.089 = US$127m ÷ (US$1.9b - US$425m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

Therefore, Chefs' Warehouse has an ROCE of 8.9%. On its own, that's a low figure but it's around the 11% average generated by the Consumer Retailing industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Chefs' Warehouse

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Chefs' Warehouse 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 Chefs' Warehouse .

The Trend Of ROCE

Even though ROCE is still low in absolute terms, it's good to see it's heading in the right direction. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 8.9%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 66%. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at Chefs' Warehouse thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital.

What We Can Learn From Chefs' Warehouse's ROCE

In summary, it's great to see that Chefs' Warehouse can compound returns by consistently reinvesting capital at increasing rates of return, because these are some of the key ingredients of those highly sought after multi-baggers. And a remarkable 314% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

Chefs' Warehouse does come with some risks though, we found 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is significant...

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.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.