Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. In light of that, when we looked at DT Midstream (NYSE:DTM) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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 DT Midstream, this is the formula:

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

0.06 = US$496m ÷ (US$8.6b - US$262m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

Thus, DT Midstream has an ROCE of 6.0%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Oil and Gas industry average of 12%.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for DT Midstream 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 DT Midstream .

What Does the ROCE Trend For DT Midstream Tell Us?

The returns on capital haven't changed much for DT Midstream in recent years. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 6.0% and the business has deployed 105% more capital into its operations. This poor ROCE doesn't inspire confidence right now, and with the increase in capital employed, it's evident that the business isn't deploying the funds into high return investments.

One more thing to note, even though ROCE has remained relatively flat over the last five years, the reduction in current liabilities to 3.1% of total assets, is good to see from a business owner's perspective. Effectively suppliers now fund less of the business, which can lower some elements of risk.

In Conclusion...

As we've seen above, DT Midstream's returns on capital haven't increased but it is reinvesting in the business. Yet to long term shareholders the stock has gifted them an incredible 120% return in the last three years, so the market appears to be rosy about its future. Ultimately, if the underlying trends persist, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger going forward.

On a final note, we've found 2 warning signs for DT Midstream that we think you should be aware of.

While DT Midstream 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.