To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. So when we looked at Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

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Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

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 Hyatt Hotels, this is the formula:

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

0.041 = US$416m ÷ (US$13b - US$3.3b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024).

So, Hyatt Hotels has an ROCE of 4.1%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Hospitality industry average of 10.0%.

See our latest analysis for Hyatt Hotels

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Hyatt Hotels 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 Hyatt Hotels .

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

We're glad to see that ROCE is heading in the right direction, even if it is still low at the moment. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 4.1%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 37%. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, a combination that's common among multi-baggers.

For the record though, there was a noticeable increase in the company's current liabilities over the period, so we would attribute some of the ROCE growth to that. Essentially the business now has suppliers or short-term creditors funding about 25% of its operations, which isn't ideal. It's worth keeping an eye on this because as the percentage of current liabilities to total assets increases, some aspects of risk also increase.

The Bottom Line

To sum it up, Hyatt Hotels has proven it can reinvest in the business and generate higher returns on that capital employed, which is terrific. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 92% return over the last five years. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Hyatt Hotels (of which 2 don't sit too well with us!) that you should know about.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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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.