If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. However, after briefly looking over the numbers, we don't think Glodon (SZSE:002410) has the makings of a multi-bagger going forward, but let's have a look at why that may be.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Glodon is:

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

0.09 = CN¥615m ÷ (CN¥11b - CN¥3.8b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, Glodon has an ROCE of 9.0%. In absolute terms, that's a low return, but it's much better than the Software industry average of 2.6%.

Check out our latest analysis for Glodon

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Glodon 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 Glodon here for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Glodon Tell Us?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Glodon, we didn't gain much confidence. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 12%, but since then they've fallen to 9.0%. However it looks like Glodon 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 may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

While on the subject, we noticed that the ratio of current liabilities to total assets has risen to 36%, which has impacted the ROCE. Without this increase, it's likely that ROCE would be even lower than 9.0%. While the ratio isn't currently too high, it's worth keeping an eye on this because if it gets particularly high, the business could then face some new elements of risk.

What We Can Learn From Glodon's ROCE

To conclude, we've found that Glodon is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. And with the stock having returned a mere 24% 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.

If you want to continue researching Glodon, you might be interested to know about the 2 warning signs that our analysis has discovered.

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.