If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding 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. Speaking of which, we noticed some great changes in Hawkins' (NASDAQ:HWKN) returns on capital, so let's have a look.

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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 Hawkins is:

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

0.18 = US$119m ÷ (US$770m - US$107m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2025).

So, Hawkins has an ROCE of 18%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Chemicals industry average of 10% it's much better.

View our latest analysis for Hawkins

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Hawkins 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 free analyst report for Hawkins .

What Can We Tell From Hawkins' ROCE Trend?

Investors would be pleased with what's happening at Hawkins. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 18%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 102%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

Our Take On Hawkins' ROCE

In summary, it's great to see that Hawkins can compound returns by consistently reinvesting capital at increasing rates of return, because these are some of the key ingredients of those highly sought after multi-baggers. Since the stock has returned a staggering 637% to shareholders over the last five years, it looks like investors are recognizing these changes. So given the stock has proven it has promising trends, it's worth researching the company further to see if these trends are likely to persist.

While Hawkins looks impressive, no company is worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic for HWKN helps visualize whether it is currently trading for a fair price.

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

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