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. Having said that, from a first glance at China Railway Tielong Container Logistics (SHSE:600125) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

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

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. The formula for this calculation on China Railway Tielong Container Logistics is:

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

0.062 = CN¥514m ÷ (CN¥9.8b - CN¥1.5b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

So, China Railway Tielong Container Logistics has an ROCE of 6.2%. In absolute terms, that's a low return, but it's much better than the Transportation industry average of 3.3%.

View our latest analysis for China Railway Tielong Container Logistics

Above you can see how the current ROCE for China Railway Tielong Container Logistics 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 China Railway Tielong Container Logistics here for free.

The Trend Of ROCE

In terms of China Railway Tielong Container Logistics' historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 10% over the last five years. On the other hand, the company has been employing more capital without a corresponding improvement in sales in the last year, which could suggest these investments are longer term plays. 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.

On a side note, China Railway Tielong Container Logistics has done well to pay down its current liabilities to 16% of total assets. So we could link some of this to the decrease in ROCE. What's more, this can reduce some aspects of risk to the business because now the company's suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of its operations. Some would claim this reduces the business' efficiency at generating ROCE since it is now funding more of the operations with its own money.

The Bottom Line

To conclude, we've found that China Railway Tielong Container Logistics is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. Since the stock has declined 15% over the last five years, investors may not be too optimistic on this trend improving either. On the whole, we aren't too inspired by the underlying trends and we think there may be better chances of finding a multi-bagger elsewhere.

One final note, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with China Railway Tielong Container Logistics (including 1 which can't be ignored) .

While China Railway Tielong Container Logistics isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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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.