Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. Having said that, from a first glance at Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ:DNUT) 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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Krispy Kreme:

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

0.0078 = US$21m ÷ (US$3.2b - US$525m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to October 2023).

Thus, Krispy Kreme has an ROCE of 0.8%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Hospitality industry average of 9.2%.

View our latest analysis for Krispy Kreme

In the above chart we have measured Krispy Kreme'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 Krispy Kreme.

What Can We Tell From Krispy Kreme's ROCE Trend?

In terms of Krispy Kreme's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 2.2%, but since then they've fallen to 0.8%. On the other hand, the company has been employing more capital without a corresponding improvement in sales in the last year, which could suggest these investments are longer term plays. 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 On Krispy Kreme's ROCE

In summary, Krispy Kreme 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 19% over the last year. However, unless these underlying trends turn more positive, we wouldn't get our hopes up too high.

While Krispy Kreme doesn't shine too bright in this respect, it's still worth seeing if the company is trading at attractive prices. You can find that out with our FREE intrinsic value estimation on our platform.

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.

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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.