There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. 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. In light of that, when we looked at Cimpress (NASDAQ:CMPR) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

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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. The formula for this calculation on Cimpress is:

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

0.19 = US$226m ÷ (US$1.9b - US$728m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

So, Cimpress has an ROCE of 19%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Commercial Services industry average of 11% it's much better.

Check out our latest analysis for Cimpress

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Cimpress compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free analyst report for Cimpress .

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

There hasn't been much to report for Cimpress' returns and its level of capital employed because both metrics have been steady for the past five years. Businesses with these traits tend to be mature and steady operations because they're past the growth phase. So unless we see a substantial change at Cimpress in terms of ROCE and additional investments being made, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger.

What We Can Learn From Cimpress' ROCE

In a nutshell, Cimpress has been trudging along with the same returns from the same amount of capital over the last five years. And investors appear hesitant that the trends will pick up because the stock has fallen 24% in the last five years. On the whole, we aren't too inspired by the underlying trends and we think there may be better chances of finding a multi-bagger elsewhere.

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

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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.