If we want to find a stock that could multiply over the long term, what are the underlying trends we should look for? Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Sichuan Jiuzhou Electronic (SZSE:000801) so let's look a bit deeper.

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. To calculate this metric for Sichuan Jiuzhou Electronic, this is the formula:

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

0.047 = CN¥166m ÷ (CN¥6.5b - CN¥3.0b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024).

Therefore, Sichuan Jiuzhou Electronic has an ROCE of 4.7%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Consumer Durables industry average of 9.2%.

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Sichuan Jiuzhou Electronic's ROCE against it's prior returns. If you want to delve into the historical earnings , check out these free graphs detailing revenue and cash flow performance of Sichuan Jiuzhou Electronic.

The Trend Of ROCE

While in absolute terms it isn't a high ROCE, it's promising to see that it has been moving in the right direction. The numbers show that in the last five years, the returns generated on capital employed have grown considerably to 4.7%. The amount of capital employed has increased too, by 36%. The increasing returns on a growing amount of capital is common amongst multi-baggers and that's why we're impressed.

Another thing to note, Sichuan Jiuzhou Electronic has a high ratio of current liabilities to total assets of 46%. This effectively means that suppliers (or short-term creditors) are funding a large portion of the business, so just be aware that this can introduce some elements of risk. Ideally we'd like to see this reduce as that would mean fewer obligations bearing risks.

The Key Takeaway

To sum it up, Sichuan Jiuzhou Electronic has proven it can reinvest in the business and generate higher returns on that capital employed, which is terrific. And a remarkable 140% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. With that being said, we still think the promising fundamentals mean the company deserves some further due diligence.

On a final note, we've found 3 warning signs for Sichuan Jiuzhou Electronic that we think you should be aware of.

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.