Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. Although, when we looked at Zhejiang Sunriver CultureLtd (SHSE:600576), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

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. To calculate this metric for Zhejiang Sunriver CultureLtd, this is the formula:

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

0.048 = CN¥154m ÷ (CN¥3.7b - CN¥501m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2023).

So, Zhejiang Sunriver CultureLtd has an ROCE of 4.8%. In absolute terms, that's a low return but it's around the Entertainment industry average of 4.4%.

Historical performance is a great place to start when researching a stock so above you can see the gauge for Zhejiang Sunriver CultureLtd'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 Zhejiang Sunriver CultureLtd.

So How Is Zhejiang Sunriver CultureLtd's ROCE Trending?

In terms of Zhejiang Sunriver CultureLtd's historical ROCE trend, it doesn't exactly demand attention. Over the past five years, ROCE has remained relatively flat at around 4.8% and the business has deployed 61% more capital into its operations. This poor ROCE doesn't inspire confidence right now, and with the increase in capital employed, it's evident that the business isn't deploying the funds into high return investments.

In Conclusion...

As we've seen above, Zhejiang Sunriver CultureLtd's returns on capital haven't increased but it is reinvesting in the business. Unsurprisingly, the stock has only gained 34% over the last five years, which potentially indicates that investors are accounting for this going forward. Therefore, if you're looking for a multi-bagger, we'd propose looking at other options.

On a final note, we've found 1 warning sign for Zhejiang Sunriver CultureLtd 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.