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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Granite Construction's (NYSE:GVA) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free.

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. To calculate this metric for Granite Construction, this is the formula:

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

0.10 = US$201m ÷ (US$3.0b - US$1.0b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

Thus, Granite Construction 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 Granite Construction

In the above chart we have measured Granite Construction'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 Granite Construction for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Granite Construction Tell Us?

Granite Construction has recently broken into profitability so their prior investments seem to be paying off. Shareholders would no doubt be pleased with this because the business was loss-making five years ago but is is now generating 10% on its capital. And unsurprisingly, like most companies trying to break into the black, Granite Construction is utilizing 20% more capital than it was five years ago. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, both common traits of a multi-bagger.

The Bottom Line

To the delight of most shareholders, Granite Construction has now broken into profitability. And a remarkable 362% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Granite Construction can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

On the other side of ROCE, we have to consider valuation. That's why we have a FREE intrinsic value estimation for GVA on our platform that is definitely worth checking out.

While Granite Construction isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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.