If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. However, after investigating Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. To calculate this metric for Innospec, this is the formula:

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

0.14 = US$198m ÷ (US$1.8b - US$373m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

So, Innospec has an ROCE of 14%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 8.1% generated by the Chemicals industry.

See our latest analysis for Innospec

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Innospec compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Innospec for free.

How Are Returns Trending?

Things have been pretty stable at Innospec, with its capital employed and returns on that capital staying somewhat the same for the last five years. Businesses with these traits tend to be mature and steady operations because they're past the growth phase. So unless we see a substantial change at Innospec in terms of ROCE and additional investments being made, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger.

Our Take On Innospec's ROCE

In a nutshell, Innospec has been trudging along with the same returns from the same amount of capital over the last five years. Unsurprisingly, the stock has only gained 15% over the last five years, which potentially indicates that investors are accounting for this going forward. As a result, if you're hunting for a multi-bagger, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.

Innospec could be trading at an attractive price in other respects, so you might find our free intrinsic value estimation for IOSP on our platform quite valuable.

While Innospec isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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.