If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. 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. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Although, when we looked at Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

Understanding 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. To calculate this metric for Hecla Mining, this is the formula:

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

0.013 = US$37m ÷ (US$3.0b - US$157m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Thus, Hecla Mining has an ROCE of 1.3%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Metals and Mining industry average of 9.4%.

In the above chart we have measured Hecla Mining's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for Hecla Mining .

So How Is Hecla Mining's ROCE Trending?

Over the past five years, Hecla Mining's ROCE and capital employed have both remained mostly flat. This tells us the company isn't reinvesting in itself, so it's plausible that it's past the growth phase. So don't be surprised if Hecla Mining doesn't end up being a multi-bagger in a few years time.

What We Can Learn From Hecla Mining's ROCE

We can conclude that in regards to Hecla Mining's returns on capital employed and the trends, there isn't much change to report on. Investors must think there's better things to come because the stock has knocked it out of the park, delivering a 131% gain to shareholders who have held over the last five years. But if the trajectory of these underlying trends continue, we think the likelihood of it being a multi-bagger from here isn't high.

If you want to continue researching Hecla Mining, you might be interested to know about the 2 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high 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.