If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base 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. Although, when we looked at China Satellite Communications (SHSE:601698), 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. To calculate this metric for China Satellite Communications, this is the formula:

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

0.032 = CN¥669m ÷ (CN¥23b - CN¥2.6b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, China Satellite Communications has an ROCE of 3.2%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Media industry average of 4.9%.

See our latest analysis for China Satellite Communications

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 China Satellite Communications 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

We weren't thrilled with the trend because China Satellite Communications' ROCE has reduced by 48% over the last five years, while the business employed 43% more capital. That being said, China Satellite Communications raised some capital prior to their latest results being released, so that could partly explain the increase in capital employed. China Satellite Communications probably hasn't received a full year of earnings yet from the new funds it raised, so these figures should be taken with a grain of salt.

In Conclusion...

In summary, China Satellite Communications 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.

China Satellite Communications does have some risks though, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for China Satellite Communications that you might be interested in.

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.