To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base 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 ran our eye over Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize's (AMS:AD) trend of ROCE, we liked what we saw.

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

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize:

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

0.12 = €3.9b ÷ (€49b - €15b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to April 2023).

Therefore, Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize has an ROCE of 12%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty normal return, and it's somewhat close to the Consumer Retailing industry average of 11%.

Check out our latest analysis for Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize

In the above chart we have measured Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize.

The Trend Of ROCE

While the current returns on capital are decent, they haven't changed much. The company has employed 43% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 12%. Since 12% is a moderate ROCE though, it's good to see a business can continue to reinvest at these decent rates of return. Stable returns in this ballpark can be unexciting, but if they can be maintained over the long run, they often provide nice rewards to shareholders.

The Key Takeaway

The main thing to remember is that Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize has proven its ability to continually reinvest at respectable rates of return. Therefore it's no surprise that shareholders have earned a respectable 75% return if they held over the last five years. So even though the stock might be more "expensive" than it was before, we think the strong fundamentals warrant this stock for further research.

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