Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. However, after investigating Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

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 Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, this is the formula:

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

0.03 = US$28m ÷ (US$1.1b - US$179m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Therefore, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has an ROCE of 3.0%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Construction industry average of 9.6%.

See our latest analysis for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

The Trend Of ROCE

In terms of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 12%, but since then they've fallen to 3.0%. However it looks like Great Lakes Dredge & Dock might be reinvesting for long term growth because while capital employed has increased, the company's sales haven't changed much in the last 12 months. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

The Bottom Line

In summary, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. And with the stock having returned a mere 16% in the last five years to shareholders, you could argue that they're aware of these lackluster trends. So if you're looking for a multi-bagger, the underlying trends indicate you may have better chances elsewhere.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.