Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology (SZSE:000157) so let's look a bit deeper.

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 Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology is:

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

0.033 = CN¥2.7b ÷ (CN¥137b - CN¥56b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology has an ROCE of 3.3%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Machinery industry average of 6.1%.

Check out our latest analysis for Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology

In the above chart we have measured Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology'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 report on analyst forecasts for the company.

How Are Returns Trending?

Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology has recently broken into profitability so their prior investments seem to be paying off. Shareholders would no doubt be pleased with this because the business was loss-making five years ago but is is now generating 3.3% on its capital. Not only that, but the company is utilizing 37% more capital than before, but that's to be expected from a company trying to break into profitability. This can indicate that there's plenty of opportunities to invest capital internally and at ever higher rates, both common traits of a multi-bagger.

On a separate but related note, it's important to know that Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology has a current liabilities to total assets ratio of 41%, which we'd consider pretty high. 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. While it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can be beneficial if this ratio is lower.

The Bottom Line

To the delight of most shareholders, Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology has now broken into profitability. And a remarkable 122% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

One more thing to note, we've identified 1 warning sign with Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology 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.