There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next 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. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. So when we looked at Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd (SZSE:300304) and its trend of ROCE, we really liked what we saw.

Understanding 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 Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd is:

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

0.067 = CN¥198m ÷ (CN¥3.6b - CN¥663m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

So, Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd has an ROCE of 6.7%. On its own, that's a low figure but it's around the 5.8% average generated by the Auto Components industry.

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you'd like to look at how Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd has performed in the past in other metrics, you can view this free graph of Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd's past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

The Trend Of ROCE

We're glad to see that ROCE is heading in the right direction, even if it is still low at the moment. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 6.7%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 51%. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, a combination that's common among multi-baggers.

Our Take On Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd's ROCE

To sum it up, Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd has proven it can reinvest in the business and generate higher returns on that capital employed, which is terrific. Since the stock has only returned 34% to shareholders over the last five years, the promising fundamentals may not be recognized yet by investors. So with that in mind, we think the stock deserves further research.

One more thing to note, we've identified 1 warning sign with Jiangsu Yunyi ElectricLtd and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

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.