There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Having said that, from a first glance at YouYou Foods (SHSE:603697) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

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 YouYou Foods, this is the formula:

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

0.086 = CN¥159m ÷ (CN¥2.0b - CN¥118m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, YouYou Foods has an ROCE of 8.6%. On its own, that's a low figure but it's around the 7.5% average generated by the Food industry.

See our latest analysis for YouYou Foods

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 YouYou Foods, check out these free graphs here.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at YouYou Foods doesn't inspire confidence. Around five years ago the returns on capital were 24%, but since then they've fallen to 8.6%. On the other hand, the company has been employing more capital without a corresponding improvement in sales in the last year, which could suggest these investments are longer term plays. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

In Conclusion...

To conclude, we've found that YouYou Foods is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. And investors appear hesitant that the trends will pick up because the stock has fallen 28% in the last three years. All in all, the inherent trends aren't typical of multi-baggers, so if that's what you're after, we think you might have more luck elsewhere.

One more thing to note, we've identified 3 warning signs with YouYou Foods and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

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.