What are the early trends we should look for to identify a stock that could multiply in value over the long term? Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. Although, when we looked at Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

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. To calculate this metric for Canadian Solar, this is the formula:

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

0.075 = US$453m ÷ (US$12b - US$5.9b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

Thus, Canadian Solar has an ROCE of 7.5%. In absolute terms, that's a low return and it also under-performs the Semiconductor industry average of 10.0%.

In the above chart we have measured Canadian Solar'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 Canadian Solar for free.

What Can We Tell From Canadian Solar's ROCE Trend?

The trend of ROCE doesn't look fantastic because it's fallen from 19% five years ago, while the business's capital employed increased by 210%. That being said, Canadian Solar raised some capital prior to their latest results being released, so that could partly explain the increase in capital employed. The funds raised likely haven't been put to work yet so it's worth watching what happens in the future with Canadian Solar's earnings and if they change as a result from the capital raise. It's also worth noting the company's latest EBIT figure is within 10% of the previous year, so it's fair to assign the ROCE drop largely to the capital raise.

On a side note, Canadian Solar has done well to pay down its current liabilities to 49% 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. Some would claim this reduces the business' efficiency at generating ROCE since it is now funding more of the operations with its own money. Either way, they're still at a pretty high level, so we'd like to see them fall further if possible.

Our Take On Canadian Solar's ROCE

To conclude, we've found that Canadian Solar is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. Unsurprisingly then, the total return to shareholders over the last five years has been flat. All in all, the inherent trends aren't typical of multi-baggers, so if that's what you're after, we think you might have more luck elsewhere.

One more thing, we've spotted 2 warning signs facing Canadian Solar that you might find interesting.

While Canadian Solar 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.