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 J&J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. The formula for this calculation on J&J Snack Foods is:

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

0.10 = US$121m ÷ (US$1.4b - US$203m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

Thus, J&J Snack Foods has an ROCE of 10%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty normal return, and it's somewhat close to the Food industry average of 11%.

In the above chart we have measured J&J Snack Foods' 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 J&J Snack Foods .

What Can We Tell From J&J Snack Foods' ROCE Trend?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at J&J Snack Foods, we didn't gain much confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 10% from 14% five years ago. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

Our Take On J&J Snack Foods' ROCE

In summary, J&J Snack Foods is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. Additionally, the stock's total return to shareholders over the last five years has been flat, which isn't too surprising. Therefore based on the analysis done in this article, we don't think J&J Snack Foods has the makings of a multi-bagger.

While J&J Snack Foods doesn't shine too bright in this respect, it's still worth seeing if the company is trading at attractive prices. You can find that out with our FREE intrinsic value estimation for JJSF on our platform.

While J&J Snack Foods may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.