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. 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. That's why when we briefly looked at AAON's (NASDAQ:AAON) ROCE trend, we were very happy with what we saw.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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 AAON:

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

0.24 = US$184m ÷ (US$930m - US$154m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

Therefore, AAON has an ROCE of 24%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Building industry average of 16%.

See our latest analysis for AAON

In the above chart we have measured AAON'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 AAON.

So How Is AAON's ROCE Trending?

AAON deserves to be commended in regards to it's returns. The company has consistently earned 24% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 212% in that time. Returns like this are the envy of most businesses and given it has repeatedly reinvested at these rates, that's even better. You'll see this when looking at well operated businesses or favorable business models.

What We Can Learn From AAON's ROCE

In short, we'd argue AAON has the makings of a multi-bagger since its been able to compound its capital at very profitable rates of return. And the stock has done incredibly well with a 109% return over the last five years, so long term investors are no doubt ecstatic with that result. 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 AAON and understanding it should be part of your investment process.

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.