When researching a stock for investment, what can tell us that the company is in decline? Typically, we'll see the trend of both return on capital employed (ROCE) declining and this usually coincides with a decreasing amount of capital employed. Basically the company is earning less on its investments and it is also reducing its total assets. So after glancing at the trends within YaGuang Technology Group (SZSE:300123), we weren't too hopeful.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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 YaGuang Technology Group is:

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

0.023 = CN¥74m ÷ (CN¥6.3b - CN¥3.0b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

So, YaGuang Technology Group has an ROCE of 2.3%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Aerospace & Defense industry average of 5.0%.

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for YaGuang Technology Group'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 YaGuang Technology Group.

What Can We Tell From YaGuang Technology Group's ROCE Trend?

We are a bit anxious about the trends of ROCE at YaGuang Technology Group. The company used to generate 4.5% on its capital five years ago but it has since fallen noticeably. In addition to that, YaGuang Technology Group is now employing 40% less capital than it was five years ago. The fact that both are shrinking is an indication that the business is going through some tough times. Typically businesses that exhibit these characteristics aren't the ones that tend to multiply over the long term, because statistically speaking, they've already gone through the growth phase of their life cycle.

While on the subject, we noticed that the ratio of current liabilities to total assets has risen to 48%, which has impacted the ROCE. If current liabilities hadn't increased as much as they did, the ROCE could actually be even lower. And with current liabilities at these levels, suppliers or short-term creditors are effectively funding a large part of the business, which can introduce some risks.

What We Can Learn From YaGuang Technology Group's ROCE

To see YaGuang Technology Group reducing the capital employed in the business in tandem with diminishing returns, is concerning. Long term shareholders who've owned the stock over the last five years have experienced a 22% depreciation in their investment, so it appears the market might not like these trends either. With underlying trends that aren't great in these areas, we'd consider looking elsewhere.

YaGuang Technology Group does have some risks though, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for YaGuang Technology Group that you might be interested in.

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.