If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. In light of that, when we looked at Sonos (NASDAQ:SONO) 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. The formula for this calculation on Sonos is:

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

0.012 = US$6.9m ÷ (US$961m - US$367m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

Thus, Sonos has an ROCE of 1.2%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Consumer Durables industry average of 14%.

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Sonos 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 Sonos for free.

How Are Returns Trending?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Sonos doesn't inspire confidence. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 8.3%, but since then they've fallen to 1.2%. 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 Sonos' ROCE

In summary, Sonos 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. In any case, the stock doesn't have these traits of a multi-bagger discussed above, so if that's what you're looking for, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.

Sonos could be trading at an attractive price in other respects, so you might find our free intrinsic value estimation for SONO on our platform quite valuable.

While Sonos 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.