There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. So on that note, Shenzhen Soling IndustrialLtd (SZSE:002766) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital.

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. To calculate this metric for Shenzhen Soling IndustrialLtd, this is the formula:

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

0.047 = CN¥32m ÷ (CN¥1.1b - CN¥470m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, Shenzhen Soling IndustrialLtd has an ROCE of 4.7%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Auto Components industry average of 6.1%.

See our latest analysis for Shenzhen Soling IndustrialLtd

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 want to delve into the historical earnings, revenue and cash flow of Shenzhen Soling IndustrialLtd, check out these free graphs here.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

It's nice to see that ROCE is headed in the right direction, even if it is still relatively low. The data shows that returns on capital have increased by 78% over the trailing five years. The company is now earning CN¥0.05 per dollar of capital employed. Interestingly, the business may be becoming more efficient because it's applying 72% less capital than it was five years ago. A business that's shrinking its asset base like this isn't usually typical of a soon to be multi-bagger company.

For the record though, there was a noticeable increase in the company's current liabilities over the period, so we would attribute some of the ROCE growth to that. Effectively this means that suppliers or short-term creditors are now funding 41% of the business, which is more than it was five years ago. Given it's pretty high ratio, we'd remind investors that having current liabilities at those levels can bring about some risks in certain businesses.

Our Take On Shenzhen Soling IndustrialLtd's ROCE

From what we've seen above, Shenzhen Soling IndustrialLtd has managed to increase it's returns on capital all the while reducing it's capital base. And since the stock has fallen 15% over the last five years, there might be an opportunity here. With that in mind, we believe the promising trends warrant this stock for further investigation.

On the other side of ROCE, we have to consider valuation. That's why we have a FREE intrinsic value estimation on our platform that is definitely worth checking out.

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.

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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.