Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount 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. Although, when we looked at Jiangsu Chuanzhiboke Education Technology (SZSE:003032), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

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

For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Jiangsu Chuanzhiboke Education Technology:

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

0.067 = CN¥105m ÷ (CN¥1.8b - CN¥235m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

Thus, Jiangsu Chuanzhiboke Education Technology has an ROCE of 6.7%. Even though it's in line with the industry average of 6.5%, it's still a low return by itself.

In the above chart we have measured Jiangsu Chuanzhiboke Education Technology's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Jiangsu Chuanzhiboke Education Technology for free.

How Are Returns Trending?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Jiangsu Chuanzhiboke Education Technology doesn't inspire confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 6.7% from 26% five years ago. Given the business is employing more capital while revenue has slipped, this is a bit concerning. This could mean that the business is losing its competitive advantage or market share, because while more money is being put into ventures, it's actually producing a lower return - "less bang for their buck" per se.

On a related note, Jiangsu Chuanzhiboke Education Technology has decreased its current liabilities to 13% of total assets. So we could link some of this to the decrease in ROCE. Effectively this means their suppliers or short-term creditors are funding less of the business, which reduces some elements of risk. Since the business is basically funding more of its operations with it's own money, you could argue this has made the business less efficient at generating ROCE.

The Key Takeaway

In summary, we're somewhat concerned by Jiangsu Chuanzhiboke Education Technology's diminishing returns on increasing amounts of capital. Long term shareholders who've owned the stock over the last three years have experienced a 44% depreciation in their investment, so it appears the market might not like these trends either. That being the case, unless the underlying trends revert to a more positive trajectory, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

Since virtually every company faces some risks, it's worth knowing what they are, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Jiangsu Chuanzhiboke Education Technology (of which 1 can't be ignored!) that you should know about.

While Jiangsu Chuanzhiboke Education Technology may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.

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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.