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. 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 looked at Domino's Pizza Group (LON:DOM), they do have a high ROCE, but we weren't exactly elated from how returns are trending.

What is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Domino's Pizza Group is:

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

0.27 = UK£106m ÷ (UK£530m - UK£139m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2021).

So, Domino's Pizza Group has an ROCE of 27%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Hospitality industry average of 2.7%.

See our latest analysis for Domino's Pizza Group

In the above chart we have measured Domino's Pizza Group'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 Domino's Pizza Group.

The Trend Of ROCE

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Domino's Pizza Group, we didn't gain much confidence. Historically returns on capital were even higher at 55%, but they have dropped over the last five years. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

What We Can Learn From Domino's Pizza Group's ROCE

Bringing it all together, while we're somewhat encouraged by Domino's Pizza Group's reinvestment in its own business, we're aware that returns are shrinking. And with the stock having returned a mere 27% in the last five years to shareholders, you could argue that they're aware of these lackluster trends. As a result, if you're hunting for a multi-bagger, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.

Domino's Pizza Group does come with some risks though, we found 4 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 2 of those are a bit concerning...

High returns are a key ingredient to strong performance, so check out our free list ofstocks earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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.