There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. And in light of that, the trends we're seeing at Halliburton's (NYSE:HAL) look very promising so lets take a look.

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 Halliburton, this is the formula:

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

0.21 = US$4.1b ÷ (US$25b - US$5.4b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

Thus, Halliburton has an ROCE of 21%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Energy Services industry average of 12%.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Halliburton 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 Halliburton .

What Can We Tell From Halliburton's ROCE Trend?

Halliburton has not disappointed with their ROCE growth. More specifically, while the company has kept capital employed relatively flat over the last five years, the ROCE has climbed 84% in that same time. So our take on this is that the business has increased efficiencies to generate these higher returns, all the while not needing to make any additional investments. On that front, things are looking good so it's worth exploring what management has said about growth plans going forward.

The Bottom Line On Halliburton's ROCE

To sum it up, Halliburton is collecting higher returns from the same amount of capital, and that's impressive. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 73% return over the last five years. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Halliburton can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing Halliburton, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should be aware of.

High returns are a key ingredient to strong performance, so check out our free list ofstocks earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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.