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. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding 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. Although, when we looked at Jiangxi Ganyue ExpresswayLTD (SHSE:600269), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

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. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Jiangxi Ganyue ExpresswayLTD:

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

0.062 = CN¥1.7b ÷ (CN¥36b - CN¥8.4b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2023).

So, Jiangxi Ganyue ExpresswayLTD has an ROCE of 6.2%. In absolute terms, that's a low return, but it's much better than the Infrastructure industry average of 4.7%.

Check out our latest analysis for Jiangxi Ganyue ExpresswayLTD

While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you'd like to look at how Jiangxi Ganyue ExpresswayLTD has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

The Trend Of ROCE

Over the past five years, Jiangxi Ganyue ExpresswayLTD's ROCE and capital employed have both remained mostly flat. Businesses with these traits tend to be mature and steady operations because they're past the growth phase. With that in mind, unless investment picks up again in the future, we wouldn't expect Jiangxi Ganyue ExpresswayLTD to be a multi-bagger going forward.

In Conclusion...

In summary, Jiangxi Ganyue ExpresswayLTD isn't compounding its earnings but is generating stable returns on the same amount of capital employed. And with the stock having returned a mere 22% in the last five years to shareholders, you could argue that they're aware of these lackluster trends. Therefore, if you're looking for a multi-bagger, we'd propose looking at other options.

Jiangxi Ganyue ExpresswayLTD does have some risks, we noticed 2 warning signs (and 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) we think you should know about.

While Jiangxi Ganyue ExpresswayLTD 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.