If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base 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 Flat Glass Group (HKG:6865) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

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

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 Flat Glass Group is:

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

0.094 = CN¥3.0b ÷ (CN¥41b - CN¥9.1b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

So, Flat Glass Group has an ROCE of 9.4%. In absolute terms, that's a low return but it's around the Semiconductor industry average of 12%.

In the above chart we have measured Flat Glass Group's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for Flat Glass Group .

How Are Returns Trending?

There are better returns on capital out there than what we're seeing at Flat Glass Group. The company has consistently earned 9.4% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 584% in that time. Given the company has increased the amount of capital employed, it appears the investments that have been made simply don't provide a high return on capital.

The Bottom Line On Flat Glass Group's ROCE

Long story short, while Flat Glass Group has been reinvesting its capital, the returns that it's generating haven't increased. Investors must think there's better things to come because the stock has knocked it out of the park, delivering a 400% gain to shareholders who have held over the last five years. However, unless these underlying trends turn more positive, we wouldn't get our hopes up too high.

If you want to know some of the risks facing Flat Glass Group we've found 3 warning signs (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.