Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. However, after investigating Corbion (AMS:CRBN), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

What Is 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 Corbion:

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

0.098 = €107m ÷ (€1.7b - €588m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Therefore, Corbion has an ROCE of 9.8%. In absolute terms, that's a low return but it's around the Chemicals industry average of 11%.

View our latest analysis for Corbion

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

What Does the ROCE Trend For Corbion Tell Us?

In terms of Corbion's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 13% over the last five years. 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's worth keeping an eye on the company's earnings from here on to see if these investments do end up contributing to the bottom line.

Our Take On Corbion's ROCE

To conclude, we've found that Corbion is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. Since the stock has declined 24% over the last five years, investors may not be too optimistic on this trend improving either. 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.

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

For those who like to invest in solid companies, check out this free list of companies with solid balance sheets and high returns on equity.