To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Although, when we looked at Wuxi NCE PowerLtd (SHSE:605111), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

Understanding 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. To calculate this metric for Wuxi NCE PowerLtd, this is the formula:

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

0.078 = CN¥288m ÷ (CN¥4.2b - CN¥489m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, Wuxi NCE PowerLtd has an ROCE of 7.8%. In absolute terms, that's a low return, but it's much better than the Semiconductor industry average of 4.4%.

See our latest analysis for Wuxi NCE PowerLtd

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Wuxi NCE PowerLtd 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 Wuxi NCE PowerLtd here for free.

How Are Returns Trending?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Wuxi NCE PowerLtd, we didn't gain much confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 28% over the last five years. However it looks like Wuxi NCE PowerLtd might be reinvesting for long term growth because while capital employed has increased, the company's sales haven't changed much in the last 12 months. 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, Wuxi NCE PowerLtd has done well to pay down its current liabilities to 12% of total assets. So we could link some of this to the decrease in ROCE. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE.

The Key Takeaway

In summary, Wuxi NCE PowerLtd is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. Unsurprisingly then, the total return to shareholders over the last three years has been flat. 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.

On a separate note, we've found 1 warning sign for Wuxi NCE PowerLtd you'll probably want to know about.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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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.