If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. 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. And in light of that, the trends we're seeing at Old Dominion Freight Line's (NASDAQ:ODFL) look very promising so lets take a look.

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 Old Dominion Freight Line is:

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

0.32 = US$1.6b ÷ (US$5.7b - US$551m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

Therefore, Old Dominion Freight Line has an ROCE of 32%. That's a fantastic return and not only that, it outpaces the average of 7.1% earned by companies in a similar industry.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Old Dominion Freight Line compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Old Dominion Freight Line for free.

What Can We Tell From Old Dominion Freight Line's ROCE Trend?

We like the trends that we're seeing from Old Dominion Freight Line. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 32%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 52%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

The Key Takeaway

In summary, it's great to see that Old Dominion Freight Line 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. And with the stock having performed exceptionally well over the last five years, these patterns are being accounted for by investors. 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.

Before jumping to any conclusions though, we need to know what value we're getting for the current share price. That's where you can check out our FREE intrinsic value estimation for ODFL that compares the share price and estimated value.

If you'd like to see other companies earning high returns, check out our free list of companies earning high returns with solid balance sheets 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.