Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? 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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think Gym Group (LON:GYM) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.

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. The formula for this calculation on Gym Group is:

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

0.019 = UK£10m ÷ (UK£596m - UK£65m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

So, Gym Group has an ROCE of 1.9%.  In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Hospitality industry average of 6.3%.

See our latest analysis for Gym Group  roce

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Gym Group compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our freereport for Gym Group.

What Can We Tell From Gym Group's ROCE Trend?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Gym Group doesn't inspire confidence. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 7.2%, but since then they've fallen to 1.9%. Although, given both revenue and the amount of assets employed in the business have increased, it could suggest the company is investing in growth, and the extra capital has led to a short-term reduction in ROCE. If these investments prove successful, this can bode very well for long term stock performance.

On a related note, Gym Group has decreased its current liabilities to 11% of total assets. That could partly explain why the ROCE has dropped. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Some would claim this reduces the business' efficiency at generating ROCE since it is now funding more of the operations with its own money.

The Key Takeaway

In summary, despite lower returns in the short term, we're encouraged to see that Gym Group is reinvesting for growth and has higher sales as a result. And there could be an opportunity here if other metrics look good too, because the stock has declined 65% in the last five years. As a result, we'd recommend researching this stock further to uncover what other fundamentals of the business can show us.

If you're still interested in Gym Group it's worth checking out our  FREE intrinsic value approximation to see if it's trading at an attractive price in other respects.

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this freelist of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content?Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

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