If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think Treasury Wine Estates (ASX:TWE) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.

What is 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. To calculate this metric for Treasury Wine Estates, this is the formula:

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

0.08 = AU$431m ÷ (AU$6.3b - AU$879m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).

Therefore, Treasury Wine Estates has an ROCE of 8.0%. On its own that's a low return, but compared to the average of 5.2% generated by the Beverage industry, it's much better.

Check out our latest analysis for Treasury Wine Estates

In the above chart we have measured Treasury Wine Estates' 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 Treasury Wine Estates here for free.

What Can We Tell From Treasury Wine Estates' ROCE Trend?

There hasn't been much to report for Treasury Wine Estates' returns and its level of capital employed because both metrics have been steady for the past five years. This tells us the company isn't reinvesting in itself, so it's plausible that it's past the growth phase. So unless we see a substantial change at Treasury Wine Estates in terms of ROCE and additional investments being made, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger. That being the case, it makes sense that Treasury Wine Estates has been paying out 61% of its earnings to its shareholders. These mature businesses typically have reliable earnings and not many places to reinvest them, so the next best option is to put the earnings into shareholders pockets.

The Bottom Line On Treasury Wine Estates' ROCE

In summary, Treasury Wine Estates isn't compounding its earnings but is generating stable returns on the same amount of capital employed. And with the stock having returned a mere 25% in the last five years to shareholders, you could argue that they're aware of these lackluster trends. So if you're looking for a multi-bagger, the underlying trends indicate you may have better chances elsewhere.

Treasury Wine Estates does have some risks though, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Treasury Wine Estates that you might be interested in.

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.

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.

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