If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. In light of that, when we looked at Sunward Intelligent Equipment (SZSE:002097) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

Understanding 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. The formula for this calculation on Sunward Intelligent Equipment is:

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

0.049 = CN¥586m ÷ (CN¥21b - CN¥9.3b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2024).

Therefore, Sunward Intelligent Equipment has an ROCE of 4.9%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Machinery industry average of 6.3%.

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're interested in investigating Sunward Intelligent Equipment's past further, check out this free graph covering Sunward Intelligent Equipment's past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Can We Tell From Sunward Intelligent Equipment's ROCE Trend?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Sunward Intelligent Equipment doesn't inspire confidence. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 8.1% over the last five years. However it looks like Sunward Intelligent Equipment might be reinvesting for long term growth because while capital employed has increased, the company's sales haven't changed much in the last 12 months. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

On a separate but related note, it's important to know that Sunward Intelligent Equipment has a current liabilities to total assets ratio of 44%, which we'd consider pretty high. This can bring about some risks because the company is basically operating with a rather large reliance on its suppliers or other sorts of short-term creditors. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be beneficial if this ratio is lower.

The Bottom Line

To conclude, we've found that Sunward Intelligent Equipment is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. And investors may be recognizing these trends since the stock has only returned a total of 32% to shareholders over the last five years. Therefore, if you're looking for a multi-bagger, we'd propose looking at other options.

One more thing: We've identified 3 warning signs with Sunward Intelligent Equipment (at least 2 which are concerning) , and understanding these would certainly be useful.

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.