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. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. However, after investigating Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE:BFAM), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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 Bright Horizons Family Solutions is:

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

0.018 = US$58m ÷ (US$3.7b - US$563m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).

Therefore, Bright Horizons Family Solutions has an ROCE of 1.8%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Consumer Services industry average of 7.4%.

View our latest analysis for Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Bright Horizons Family Solutions 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 Bright Horizons Family Solutions here for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Bright Horizons Family Solutions doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 11% over the last five years. However it looks like Bright Horizons Family Solutions 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's worth keeping an eye on the company's earnings from here on to see if these investments do end up contributing to the bottom line.

The Bottom Line

In summary, Bright Horizons Family Solutions is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. Although the market must be expecting these trends to improve because the stock has gained 86% over the last five years. Ultimately, if the underlying trends persist, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger going forward.