If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing 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. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) so let's look a bit deeper.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Valmont Industries:

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

0.17 = US$472m ÷ (US$3.5b - US$723m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Thus, Valmont Industries has an ROCE of 17%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Construction industry average of 12% it's much better.

View our latest analysis for Valmont Industries

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Valmont Industries 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 Valmont Industries .

So How Is Valmont Industries' ROCE Trending?

Valmont Industries is displaying some positive trends. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 17%. The company is effectively making more money per dollar of capital used, and it's worth noting that the amount of capital has increased too, by 30%. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, a combination that's common among multi-baggers.

In Conclusion...

All in all, it's terrific to see that Valmont Industries is reaping the rewards from prior investments and is growing its capital base. Since the stock has returned a solid 82% to shareholders over the last five years, it's fair to say investors are beginning to recognize these changes. 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.

If you want to continue researching Valmont Industries, you might be interested to know about the 3 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.

While Valmont Industries 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.

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.