Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. 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. In light of that, when we looked at SEEK (ASX:SEK) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

Understanding 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. To calculate this metric for SEEK, this is the formula:

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

0.07 = AU$299m ÷ (AU$4.8b - AU$465m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

Therefore, SEEK has an ROCE of 7.0%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Interactive Media and Services industry average of 9.3%.

Check out our latest analysis for SEEK

Above you can see how the current ROCE for SEEK 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 SEEK for free.

So How Is SEEK's ROCE Trending?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at SEEK, we didn't gain much confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 11% over the last five years. However it looks like SEEK might be reinvesting for long term growth because while capital employed has increased, the company's sales haven't changed much in the last 12 months. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

On a related note, SEEK has decreased its current liabilities to 9.8% of total assets. That could partly explain why the ROCE has dropped. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE.

The Bottom Line On SEEK's ROCE

To conclude, we've found that SEEK is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. And investors may be recognizing these trends since the stock has only returned a total of 17% to shareholders over the last five years. As a result, if you're hunting for a multi-bagger, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.

One more thing to note, we've identified 1 warning sign with SEEK and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

While SEEK may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.