To find a multi-bagger stock, what are the underlying trends we should look for in a business? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. In light of that, when we looked at Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium (SHSE:600497) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

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 Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium, this is the formula:

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

0.11 = CN¥2.4b ÷ (CN¥27b - CN¥4.1b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Therefore, Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium has an ROCE of 11%. On its own, that's a standard return, however it's much better than the 6.2% generated by the Metals and Mining industry.

View our latest analysis for Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

So How Is Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium's ROCE Trending?

There hasn't been much to report for Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium's returns and its level of capital employed because both metrics have been steady for the past five years. This tells us the company isn't reinvesting in itself, so it's plausible that it's past the growth phase. So unless we see a substantial change at Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium in terms of ROCE and additional investments being made, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger. That being the case, it makes sense that Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium has been paying out 112% of its earnings to its shareholders. If the company is in fact lacking growth opportunities, that's one of the viable alternatives for the money.

On a side note, Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium has done well to reduce current liabilities to 15% of total assets over the last five years. This can eliminate some of the risks inherent in the operations because the business has less outstanding obligations to their suppliers and or short-term creditors than they did previously.

What We Can Learn From Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium's ROCE

We can conclude that in regards to Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium's returns on capital employed and the trends, there isn't much change to report on. And investors may be recognizing these trends since the stock has only returned a total of 34% to shareholders over the last five years. As a result, if you're hunting for a multi-bagger, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.

One more thing, we've spotted 2 warning signs facing Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium that you might find interesting.

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.