Hilton Worldwide Holdings (NYSE:HLT) Is Looking To Continue Growing Its Returns On Capital

What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Hilton Worldwide Holdings (NYSE:HLT) so let's look a bit deeper.

What Is 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 Hilton Worldwide Holdings is:

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

0.16 = US$1.9b ÷ (US$16b - US$3.4b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

Therefore, Hilton Worldwide Holdings has an ROCE of 16%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Hospitality industry average of 11% it's much better.

View our latest analysis for Hilton Worldwide Holdings

roce

In the above chart we have measured Hilton Worldwide Holdings' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

The Trend Of ROCE

Hilton Worldwide Holdings has not disappointed with their ROCE growth. The figures show that over the last five years, ROCE has grown 74% whilst employing roughly the same amount of capital. So it's likely that the business is now reaping the full benefits of its past investments, since the capital employed hasn't changed considerably. It's worth looking deeper into this though because while it's great that the business is more efficient, it might also mean that going forward the areas to invest internally for the organic growth are lacking.

What We Can Learn From Hilton Worldwide Holdings' ROCE

In summary, we're delighted to see that Hilton Worldwide Holdings has been able to increase efficiencies and earn higher rates of return on the same amount of capital. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 84% return over the last five years. Therefore, we think it would be worth your time to check if these trends are going to continue.

If you'd like to know more about Hilton Worldwide Holdings, we've spotted 2 warning signs, and 1 of them is a bit unpleasant.

While Hilton Worldwide Holdings 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.

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