Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential 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. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. However, after investigating Yeal Electric (SZSE:300923), we don't think it's current trends fit the mold of a multi-bagger.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Yeal Electric, this is the formula:

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

0.024 = CN¥28m ÷ (CN¥1.3b - CN¥156m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

So, Yeal Electric has an ROCE of 2.4%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Machinery industry average of 6.1%.

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 Yeal Electric has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Can We Tell From Yeal Electric's ROCE Trend?

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Yeal Electric, we didn't gain much confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 2.4% from 10% five years ago. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It's worth keeping an eye on the company's earnings from here on to see if these investments do end up contributing to the bottom line.

The Bottom Line

In summary, Yeal Electric is reinvesting funds back into the business for growth but unfortunately it looks like sales haven't increased much just yet. Since the stock has declined 57% over the last three years, investors may not be too optimistic on this trend improving either. Therefore based on the analysis done in this article, we don't think Yeal Electric has the makings of a multi-bagger.

If you'd like to know more about Yeal Electric, we've spotted 4 warning signs, and 1 of them is potentially serious.

While Yeal Electric may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.