If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. 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. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Having said that, from a first glance at ACCO Brands (NYSE:ACCO) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

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. The formula for this calculation on ACCO Brands is:

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

0.053 = US$133m ÷ (US$3.0b - US$557m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2020).

Thus, ACCO Brands has an ROCE of 5.3%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Commercial Services industry average of 9.9%.

View our latest analysis for ACCO Brands

Above you can see how the current ROCE for ACCO Brands 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 ACCO Brands here for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For ACCO Brands Tell Us?

In terms of ACCO Brands' historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 10%, but since then they've fallen to 5.3%. Given the business is employing more capital while revenue has slipped, this is a bit concerning. If this were to continue, you might be looking at a company that is trying to reinvest for growth but is actually losing market share since sales haven't increased.

The Bottom Line On ACCO Brands' ROCE

In summary, we're somewhat concerned by ACCO Brands' diminishing returns on increasing amounts of capital. Despite the concerning underlying trends, the stock has actually gained 14% over the last five years, so it might be that the investors are expecting the trends to reverse. Regardless, we don't like the trends as they are and if they persist, we think you might find better investments elsewhere.

Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for ACCO Brands (of which 1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should know about.

While ACCO Brands isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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